His Afterlife
by DSecret
Summary: This is the story of the afterlife of a boy who had died in a most embarrassing way. After owing Ichigo a huge favour, he moved on and started a new life in Soul Society where his presence had slowly begun to change the events around him. Male OC
1. So I am Dead

Summary: This is a story of the afterlife of a boy who had died in the most embarrassing way at a tender age of 14. After owing Ichigo a huge favour, he moved on and started a new life in Soul Society where his presence had slowly begun to change the events around him. Male OC.

My first fic of Bleach. I know I really shouldn't start another fiction, knowing my bad habit of updating but I just can't help it! My fingers itched to start writing after the Bleach anime marathon that I had. So… yeah.

Anyway, this is a story of an OC. Ichigo and his crew will not appear until later chapter but I swear they will be the main characters as well. This is not going to be a fic where the OC is the strongest of the strongest straight off (because that is just unrealistic) and wins glorious fights after glorious fights and falls madly in love with one of the Taichou and…

So, basically no Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu. Also, I'll have a vocabulary list at the bottom of the page for any infrequently used Japanese words that I had used in italic. Hope you will enjoy this first chapter.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

* * *

Chapter one – So… I am Dead

'Wow, who would've thought,' the newly-dead soul pondered, standing above himself, 'that afterlife is really this boring.' Scratching the back of his head, he squatted down beside his body, the chain on his chest clanged softly. 'And this... this gotta be the most embarrassing way to go.'

It really wasn't his best side, half naked and all that. He had died during his nightly after-shower/bath-ritual, which consisted of drinking cold milk in the standard position with only a towel around his waist. On this particular night, he had tilted his head back too far and the milk came out of the bottle and into his nose. With a yell, he accidently snorted the liquid up into his inner system and, still dizzy from the hot bath, he tripped. Banging his head against the wall, he was immediately knocked out and fell head-first into the tub-full of warm water.

'And I drowned, still clutching on to the milk bottle with half of my arse visible.' He sighed. 'Why did I decide to treat myself to a long bath when I should've just stuck to my ten minutes shower...'

Drifting through the wall just because he could, he wondered what he should do. 'I seem to remember that there's a guy at school who looked as if he could see something. Maybe I should visit him tomorrow. Yeah, I'll do that...'

_The next day_

Standing outside the school gate by the letters 'Mashiba Junior High School', he waited for the guy to come. It would be easy to spot him; after all, that guy's features were really prominent. He had been waiting ever since six in the morning as he wasn't sure if the teen was a sporty type of person and might be early for training.

Apparently he wasn't.

It had been boring so he had to look for things to do. And it was interesting the first couple of times when people would just walk right through him, but then it quickly got dull again when this just made him feel alone. 'But this is no different to my usual day... I had always been ignored anyway.'

"Morning! Ichigo!"

"Ah, morning."

Quickly stopped himself from making faces at the teacher, he stepped up to the guy he had been looking for. Raising a hand to greet, he was knocked off his feet before he could get a syllable out. "How's that possible..." he cried, sliding to a halt on the ground where a girl planted her foot through his face. 'Pink with yellow flowers...'

"Oi! Dude, I'm sorry. Are you all right?" the orange-haired teen hurried forward, missing the part where the girl's foot speared the boy's head. "That looked painful!"

"Ichigo, who're you talking to?" Kojima asked, looking concerned.

Ichigo pointed down. "This guy, I bumped into him, didn't you see?" At his friend's shook of head, he realised. "Damn... not another one!" Standing up quickly, he grabbed hold of the spirit's shirt and dragged him off. "Tell sensei I'll only be slightly late," he yelled over his shoulder, not caring about the complaints from the floundering spirit behind him.

Arriving at his destination, behind the school building, he roughly plopped the boy down. "So, what is it that you want?" he asked, tapping his foot. "Sorry to rush but I still got to go to class."

The spirit floated up, dusted his pants and bowed slightly. "My name is Kuromori Yuki, please to meet you," he introduced.

Ichigo bowed as well, more out of habit then politeness. "Kurosaki Ichigo. You're from this school right?" he asked, noting the uniform on Kuromori. "And your name is really contradicting." Somehow this sentence had prompted a memory to surface. "Wait… are you that guy who got transferred into my class couple of months ago?" (1)

Yuki nodded. "You probably will recognise me if I do this…" he said, patting and splitting his hairline right down the middle so it would look like a shiny brown helmet on his head and slipped on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Lastly, he did up the hook clasps on his uniform all the way to the top and adjusted his glasses with his middle finger the geeky style.

"Whoa! Do you have double personalities or what!?" Ichigo exclaimed as now standing in front of him was the Kuromori Yuki that he recognised. Indeed the change was drastic. The boy that had came to look for him looked cheerful with naturally curly, hair flopping everywhere and soft brown eyes. Now he had become so gloomy and geeky-like that if it had started raining encyclopaedias, he would not be surprised. "How come you look so different?"

"Well… your class…" Yuki started and continued when Ichigo said he didn't care, "The thing was, I was stalked by a guy at my last school and it got pretty bad. Err… I won't go into too much details but I changed school and my looks in an attempt for him not to find me."

Feeling goose bumps rising on his arms, the orange-haired teen shivered. "Eww… But isn't that all too extreme? Won't that make your life harder here in the new school? You were always alone! I won't have remembered your name if it wasn't because it was weird," he said truthfully.

Sweat-dropping at the other's bluntness, Yuki shrugged. "Beats being stalked, besides, it was kind of fun in a way."

"So… What is it that you want with me?" Ichigo asked again, this time with little more patience.

"Oh right, umm… I died last night and I was wondering if you can call the police before my body rots," the spirit said, still feeling a bit weird talking about his body as if it was not part of him. 'It is no longer part of me!' he suddenly realised but the shock quickly worn off.

Ichigo cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Why ask me? Don't you have your family around?"

"I've living alone by myself ever since I moved to this town. My parents died when I was younger," Yuki explained. "I had been living with my relatives up until the stalking incident drove them crazy, enough to kick me out. Ever since then, I've been living off my parents' money."

"Wow! Well… err… sorry for your loss, in many ways," Ichigo said awkwardly. "So, I'll call the police after school today or tomorrow, make it look like I was worried because you haven't been to school or something like that."

"About that…"

"What is it? Just spit it out."

Taking a huge breathe before plunging in, Yuki blurted out, "I died in a very embarrassing position so I was wondering if you could come to my apartment and put a towel around me or something like that so no one will laugh at me when they've found me."

"Eh?"

_Later that day, after school_

Yuki had shown Ichigo where the spare key to his apartment door was and the boy let himself in, mindful of not being seen by any of the neighbours. "You know… this is kind of disgusting," he muttered, tying his handkerchief around his face.

"Sorry, I know I had been dead for almost a day," Yuki apologised and pointed towards a stack of clean towels by the washing machine. "If you can…"

"I know, I know. I'll just drape it over your body right?" Ichigo disdainfully picked one up and took a deep breath. Quickly opening the bathroom door, he rushed in and out with impressive speed, slamming the door shut behind him with a 'bang'. "That's done," he sighed, sinking down. "I'm so glad I didn't see anything. Seeing a dead body is a lot different than seeing a ghost…"

"I would offer you something to drink but in this state," Yuki pointed at his transparent body, "I can't even boil water!" He glanced at the Ichigo's pale face and added, "I don't think you'll want to stay any longer than necessary anyway."

"What kind of adults will leave their fourteen-year-old nephew live by himself anyway!" Ichigo mutter angrily. "That's just so irresponsible! I hope they'll get into trouble for this!"

Yuki gave a nervous laugh. "If you put it that way… Anyway, thank you, Kurosaki-kun, for all the troubles you've gone through today," he said with a deep bow. "I owe you a huge favour."

"Just call me Ichigo, and I don't think you'll be able to repay it anyway," Ichigo said jokingly and stood up. "Hurry up and go to heaven! You've got nothing left to do right?" He waved a goodbye and left through the front door.

"I'll keep that in mind!" Yuki called after him and smiled softly. Looking around his tiny apartment for one last time, he had also left his home. He knew that Ichigo would take care of the rest so he had no intention of coming back again. After all, it was impossible for him to take anything with him, so what was the point for him to linger?

Wondering around the town until late, he sat down on the swing in a nearby park. 'What to do now?' he wondered, the chain on his chest hung heavily. 'Do I have to wait for forty-nine days before I could move on? Does that mean I'll have to be judged once a week?' He swung on the swing for a bit, scaring the crap out of the nearby kissing couple. "So boring!" (2)

Suddenly, something screeched from behind, causing him to fall face forward into the soft sand. 'Déjà vu… this was how I died,' he thought, turning around to see what had made that sound. He 'eep-ed!' and turned pale. "You- You are…seriously deformed!" he yelled, backing away quickly.

In front of him was a monster beyond his imagination. With a head shaped like a diamond and shining red eyes, axes for arms, a huge gaping hole in the middle of its chest, and it was…drooling! 'It looked exactly like the offspring of a praying mantis and a rock. Am I… its food!?' When the monster's weapons glinted, he took it as a signal to start running.

"Why does these kind of things always happen to me!" he screamed, using his one hundred meter dash skill, which was not fast at all. He was determined not to get eaten if it was the last thing he did! But he was already dead, so did this still count as the last thing? 'Now is not the time to think this kind of thoughts!'

"Someone… SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

"Don't worry," something stepped past him said; it was a female's voice. "You're in safe hands now."

Turning around in alarm, he was shocked to see a girl in black kimono and hakama walking towards the monster. "Watch out!" he yelled, forgetting about his own safety. Everything slowed down from his point of view. He watched as the girl pulled out the pure white katana that hung by her waist and brought it down upon the monster's head.

With a flash and one final scream, the thing simply split in half and dissolved into nothingness. Sitting down softly, he slowly picked his jaw back up to its original place. "What is this…" he whispered, stunned to the core.

"Are you all right?" the girl asked, reaching down with a hand to help him up.

"Ah… yes, thanks to you," Yuki said sincerely, taking the small hand. "What was that? And who are you?"

The girl was about a head shorter than him with smooth, dark hair that sat neatly on her head despite the fact she was fighting a monster just moments before. Her features were sharp and her eyes were serious when she looked at him, but they were not unkind. "That was a Hollow, and I am a shinigami."

"Shinigami, really!? Does that mean you're here to send me away?" Yuki asked, not at all afraid. "I'm Kuromori Yuki, please to meet you." He bowed.

"Kuchiki Rukia, same here," the shinigami introduced and lifted up her sword. "I'll give you the _Konsou_ now, so if you will stand still."

"Thank you very much for saving my life," the boy said, feeling the base of the hilt stamping his forehead. "I hope I will be able to see you again."

Watching the plus fading away, Rukia allowed the butterfly to land on her finger. "That was rare… not many drifting pluses are that willing to move on," she muttered then disappeared, waiting for her next order.

He was expecting, actually, he wasn't sure what he was expecting but he thought there would at least be light, bright light. But there was only darkness, one that he could not see his fingers even if he shoved them into his eyes. 'My goodness, even my afterlife is boring,' he thought, wondering what was going to happen.

"Oi… Brat, if you don't get up now that you won't be able to get into today's line," a voice said, shoving him.

Opening his eyes, he came face to face with a person clad in what he now recognised as the shinigami uniform. "Where am I?" he asked, slightly disoriented.

"You're getting sorted into what district of Rukongai you will be living in from now on," the shinigami told him. "Quickly go and line up with your ticket, it's the last call."

Realizing he was clutching on to a piece of paper, he finally understood what was going on. 'It's like at the bank where you get tickets to line up too.' He quickly scrambled up to get to the end of the line, nearly tripped over by the slightly restricting white _nagajuban_ he was now wearing. "This is so confusing…"

Waiting for what seemed like hours, he was finally up at the reception desk. He had tried to chat to the man in front of him to pass time but was ignored; apparently the guy was still bitter over his death and had been muttering constantly. Since he was the last one in line, he had no one else to talk to. "Hello," he greeted the shinigami, glad to finally hear his own voice after so long.

"Ticket please," the woman said, all business-like with a strict hair bun to complete the image. Hastily giving the said paper to her, he tried a smile but shrank back when all he got was silence. "West Rukongai, first district. Here's a change of clothes for you and two urns of water. Welcome to Soul Society," she said crisply, a door appearing behind her, allowing a beam of light to stream in.

"Than-Thank you," Yuki said, taking the items from the lady, awkwardly juggling the two pots. "Umm… Please have a nice day… if it is still day out there," he finished lamely.

The lady surprised him with a small smile. "You're the first one to say that to me in ages," she whispered softly. "You're lucky that you've been sorted into first district as it is the safest out of all the others. I wish you good luck, boy."

Encouraged by this, he gave a bow and stepped through the door into light. Squinting, he was able to see after a while when his eyes got used to the brightness. "Wow…" He stared. It was as if he was taken back in time where everything was… still inconvenient. Wondering what he should do now, he started to wander aimlessly. He had immediately noticed that he was no longer wearing the white kimono but a plain one with a pattern of small crosses on it. 'How many sets of clothes have I changed since I died?' he thought, chuckling lightly.

"You're a newcomer, right?" a soft voice asked.

Yuki turned around to find an elderly lady watching him. She was a short lady, shorter than his a meter sixty height and was slightly on the chubby side. "Wow, how did you know?" he asked, really surprised.

She pointed at the urns in his arms. "Although this is the safest district, no one would walk around with something as precious as water so casually," she explained. "If I were you, I would be more cautious."

"Thank you, obaa-san, I really have no idea about this place at all," he said apologetically. His instincts told him that this lady was genuinely trying to help and not attempting to fool him. Although he had been wrong with his instincts before but, he shrugged, he was already dead so it couldn't be worst, could it? "Obaa-san, can you tell me about this place?"

Nodding her head slowly, the old lady started walking. "Let's talk at my house, it'll be more comfortable there," she invited and Yuki quickly followed.

The old lady had explained to him about Soul Society until late that night while drinking tea. Yuki had wondered about having dinner but apparently spirits, or pluses, did not get hungry at all, which was something he could understand. He also had a better understanding about shinigami now, knowing that he must had something called 'reiatsu' before he could even think of become one.

"Thank you for having me," he said, standing up to leave as he felt he had overstayed his welcome. "It was great to get to know about the place I will be living in so soon."

The lady, Obaa-san he now called her, stalled him with a hand on his sleeve. "Yuki-kun, why don't you stay with me?" she offered. "I've been living by myself for some time now and dearly wish for some companies."

"Really!? You won't think that I'm a bother?" Yuki asked, really happy with this idea but was making sure. At Obaa-san's gentle nod, he cheered and danced around the small house.

Obaa-san laughed. "There hasn't been so much life in this house for ages," she said happily. "I'm glad I have met you today."

Months had gone by since that day and Yuki had lived everyday to its fullest. Although they hadn't been together long, but the two pluses had gotten quite close together. It was perhaps one was quite old and the other too young. For him, it was like having a grandmother again. The only down side was that he had to relearn many things, even for the simplest chores. There were no such things as washing machines or stoves so everything had to be done by hands, including cooking.

He had been having some trouble not to burn the food he had secretly stashed away as, for some reason, he did get hungry. It had started with a gnawing sensation at the pit of his stomach, but he hadn't been hungry for so long that he had completely forgotten what it was. It wasn't until he fainted and fell into a nearby stream did he realised what was happening.

He was glad that he had reiatsu as that had meant he could become a shinigami. He had wanted to become one, trying to follow Kuchiki-san's, his saviour's footsteps. But he realised that he was needed by Obaa-san and he was very much in the little lady's debt. He also knew about the two occupants that lived with her before he came along and how they had left to become the taichou and fukutaichou of other shinigami. Although Obaa-san had told him that she was very happy about their rapid rising status in Seiretei, he could tell that she had been very lonely living by herself. Knowing that, there was no way he could leave her now.

But that did not stop him from dreaming that, perhaps in a couple of hundreds of years, he could become just like them. The two shinigami were pretty much his idols now. Even though he had no idea what they looked like but Obaa-san had described to him their general features and personalities. He had somewhat hope that one day he would be able to meet them personally even though he knew it was not possible.

Anyway, because of his 'special condition', he had finally become good in finding and cooking food in secret, after eating burnt food for so long.

Eating his lunch now behind the house, he heard footsteps coming. Quickly shoving the pot of rice under some bushes, he stood up and feigned sleepiness. "Yuki, where are you?" the little lady came around the corner. "Here you are! What were you doing?" she asked.

"It was nothing, just a bit of a nap," Yuki said, laughing the matter off. "Are you going out, Obaa-san?"

She nodded. "I'll only be out for a bit. Will you look after the house?"

"Of course!" He waved goodbye and hurried into the house after retrieving his lunch. He was beginning to get sick of hiding his meals but he could not take any chances. If the neighbours saw him constantly eating, they would certainly come to one conclusion, then the gossips would start to fly. Not wanting that, he had to always be careful when he ate. But he was tired.

"Obaa-chan!" a voice rang out from the other side of the closed door before the said door slid open.

He was so surprised by this sudden intrusion that he did nothing for a couple of seconds, the chopsticks in his hand still half way towards his mouth. The rice grains fell softly into his laps as the two stared at each other, one in confusion and the other in shock.

"Hinamori, what are waiting for? Stop blocking the doorway," another voice, this time male, said and the door slid to open wider. A new pair of eyes looked in and frowned. "Who are you? Where's Obaa-san?"

Yuki slowly closed his opened mouth with a hand before he started to stutter, "Hi-Hi-Hitsugaya-tai-!" A hand silenced his words from behind and he blinked to find the boy with gravity-defying hair that was by the door now was behind him.

"Shut it!" the boy hissed. "There's a good reason why we're not in shinigami uniforms so don't go around yelling our titles out!"

Noticing for the first time that the two shinigami were indeed wearing plain kimonos, Yuki nodded his head in silent apology. But still, he could not believe it! The two shinigami he admired so much was now in front of him, in flesh! He pinched his butt, hard, and yelped when he all did was giving himself a new bruise. "You're real…" he muttered stupidly, his face blushing madly.

Hitsugaya stepped back and rejoined Hinamori. "Who are you?" he repeated. "What have you done to Obaa-san?"

Not answering the question, Yuki jumped up and started to blabbered excitedly, "Hitsugaya-tai-, no, Hitsugaya-san, Hinamori-san, what a surprise! Please come in!" He appeared behind the two and prompted them with a soft push. Not giving the two the time to react to his speed, he was back at the hearth, poking the ashes to flame to boil water and make tea. "Obaa-san will be back soon. She's just been out to get something. Please use these!" He laid the two thin cushions on the tatami but left the fatter one alone in the corner.

Still not trusting the stranger that was in their old home, especially since the little lady was not here to verify the story, both shinigami were still standing. "Who are you?" Hinamori challenged, beginning to wish that she had her zanpakutou with her.

Alarmed by his rudeness, Yuki quickly stood up and bowed deeply in respect. "So-Sorry about this! My name is Kuromori Yuki! I've been living with Obaa-san since the day I arrived in Soul Society. It is my honour to meet you!" he said, hoping that he hadn't offended his idols. 'Damn! Just the perfect way to ruin their first impression of me!'

Hitsugaya narrowed his teal eyes. "Do you really expect us to believe your-"

"Ara, ara… What's happening here?"

"Obaa-chan!" Hinamori cried out. "You're alright!"

The little lady cocked her head slightly to one side. "Why won't I be?" she wondered and gestured a little with her free hand. "Sit down, sit down. It has been a while since you last visit me."

"Obaa-san, who is this guy?" the white-haired boy asked, helping his grandma to step on to the tatami. "What is he doing here?"

"Yuki?" She turned to face the fidgeting boy who busied himself in fluffing up the fatter cushion and laying it down in its place. "Didn't you introduce yourself?" she asked, sinking slowly down on to the cushion that he got for her. "I was hoping their visit would be a pleasant surprise for you."

Yuki was quick to reassure her. "No, no! They were a fabulous surprise! It was just that…" he trailed off, unsure whether he should comment on the fact that the duo thought was some kind of robber or things like that.

Obaa-san looked startled for a second before she softly hit herself on her forehead. "I forgot to tell them before they arrived," she said with an embarrass smile. "It's almost impossible to get words pass the _Seireimon_ so… well, it must have slipped my mind." She laughed softly which increased in volume when the others joined her awkwardly.

With the confusion out of the way, introductions were once again passed around. "Kuromori-kun, please, there's no need to address us so formally," Hinamori said, slightly exasperate, when Yuki had timidly called her "Hinamori-san," for the fifth time. "After all, we are sort of like family now."

Yuki grinned. "Only if you call me Yuki," he returned, shedding his shyness and revealing his true personality.

"In that case, you must call me Momo, too!" Hinamori, replied, feeling childishly happy despite her age. "Yuki-kun," she tried.

"Momo-san," Yuki said and turned to look at the silent boy on his other side. "Tou-Toushi- I mean, Hitsugaya-san," he quickly changed when his attempts were rewarded with a steady cold look.

"Shiro-chan! Don't be mean to the guy," Hinamori admonished, wishing she could hit him on the head but could not because of the distance between them. "He's family now!"

Hitsugaya turned his face away from the new boy. "He's not family, we've only known him for a few hours. And don't call me Shiro-chan!"

Obaa-san reached over and patted the boy on the head and, despite himself, Hitsugaya leaned into the touch. "Now, now… Everyone, let's calm down on this hot summer day," she said kindly. She pulled the bag that she had when she got back closer to her and revealed the content. "Since I knew you would be back today so I went and got this."

"Watermelon, my favourite!" Yuki said happily and excitedly went to get a knife and chopping board.

"I'll do it," Hitsugaya muttered, grabbing the items from the other boy's grasp. He was feeling uncomfortably annoyed for reasons he did not want to admit. After all, there was no reason for him to be jealous of that boy. No, of course not. Not at all. Not even when he was calling Hinamori by her first name, nor when Obaa-san seemed to be depending on him, nor when they share mutual love for the melon. And definitely not because he was taller than him!

Cutting into the hard-shelled fruit with more force than necessary, he was still able to split the watermelon cleanly into four portions. Surprising everyone in the room, he offered Yuki first, but his eyes were sharp.

"Thank you," Yuki said uneasily and picked the smallest slice there was. The chopping board did not move to offer others. Shifting awkwardly, he did not need to look up to know that the white-haired boy's gaze was still on him

Hitsugaya stared for a little while longer before he brought the board in front of Obaa-san. "… You can call me Toushirou," he muttered gruffly and refused to explain his sudden change of heart even when Hinamori put him into a headlock.

He would never say that he accepted Yuki because he was willing to pick the smallest slice of watermelon with no hesitation despite it being his favourite. One could say it was a trivial thing but not to Hitsugaya. Besides, there were other signs that Yuki always put Obaa-san ahead of himself and for that, he was grateful. He was ashamed to acknowledge it but he had been neglecting the kind lady for a bit lately, even though he knew she was lonely.

But he was still annoyed by that silly grin on Yuki's face. "Would you stop that!" he snapped but it did not faze the other boy.

"Sorry…" Yuki apologised but he could wipe the smile off his face. "Umm… well, who's up for some more tea?" he asked, quickly standing up to move to the hearth so he would not infuriate the white-haired boy anymore with his facial expression.

"Ah, there's no more water left," Obaa-san said, remembering that she had used the last of the water in the big pot.

"If that's the case," Yuki picked up two of the smaller urns in the room, "I'll go to the river and get some more."

"I'll come with you!" Hinamori offered, standing up.

Yuki shook his head, slipping his _zouri_ on. "Please, I know you want to spend more time with Obaa-san and you only have today," he said. "I'll be back soon!"

Obaa-san allowed the chat of little things to last for a while before she started, "I was wondering…"

"What is it, Obaa-chan?" Hinamori asked when she paused.

"I was wondering if you can take Yuki with you when you go back to Seiretei," she finally said, knowing she was asking her grandchildren something big.

Hitsugaya was confused. "Why? Does he have… reiatsu?" he asked. To tell the truth, he didn't think the boy had the potential because he had not felt anything when he was around. Especially since Yuki had came in contact with the reiatsu of a taichou and fukutaichou.

The little lady nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I believe he does." She looked about her for a bit and lowered her voice; both shinigami leaned in to listen, "He eats in secret, everyday!"

Hinamori shared a look with Hitsugaya before she said softly, "Obaa-chan… maybe he just likes food. It may mean nothing." She looked slightly awkward. "Perhaps you've… um… mistaken?"

Obaa-san huffed. "I know what I've seen."

"But, Obaa-chan, he's-"

"I wonder what's taking Yuki so long?" the little lady quickly changed the subject, and the two younger spirits sweat-dropped at the rare show of immatureness.

"Tadaima."

Walking in at that precise moment, Yuki looked about himself in surprise when everyone turned to stare at him. "Umm… is something wrong?" he asked, setting the pots down gently.

Obaa-san's eyes soften when she set her gaze on the boy. "Okaeri, Yuki… I know about it," she said gently and suddenly. "There's no reason to hide your meals anymore."

Yuki laughed, his smile did not falter. "Obaa-san, I don't understand," he said. "I don't need to eat. You know that!"

"Excuse me."

This was all the warning the boy get before a hand appeared in front of his eyes and, using his face, it pushed him down on to the tatami floor. "Toushirou-san!" he yelled, his voice muffled. 'That had hurt…'

"You're good," Hitsugaya said, sitting down on the stomach of the boy below him, trapping his arms with his legs, "good enough to fool Obaa-san and Hinamori with your little act." He leaned in and Yuki was able to see his face through his fingers. "But, I saw the stiffening of your shoulders and that fake smile of yours, so," he smiled eerily, "we are going have to do this the rough way."

The Captain of the 10th Division in the Gotei 13 released his reiatsu, pinpointing it directly on to Yuki. Realising what was happening with no difficulty; the boy squirmed and tried to throw the smaller figure off. 'How the hell can a midget weigh so heavy!' he mentally screamed, all politeness fled him during this pressing moment.

Normal people or pluses without reiatsu had the danger of being mentally squashed by being in the presence of strong reiatsu, unless they had the strong will to fight back. People that did have reiatsu would not be squashed; instead they would just be rendered into a sobbing heap on the ground unless their reiatsu were stronger.

Survival instinct kicking in, Yuki's reiatsu, without the consent of its master, released itself to reflect the challenging one from Hitsugaya. With a burst of energy, he was finally able to heave the boy off him. 'Crap…' he thought with a sinking feeling, 'this is so not happening…'

"Although it was a bit rough, it was a good idea," Hinamori said, helping Hitsugaya up. "Yuki-kun, you do have the quality of a shinigami."

"But I…" he shifted his gaze on to Obaa-san. "I can't."

Obaa-san looked down at her hands, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu washing over her. "Yuki, are you staying because of me?" she asked, looking at the boy.

Yuki could not meet her gaze, quietly berating himself for not establishing a pretend dislike for shinigami from the very beginning. Now he was making Obaa-san feeling the guilt that she didn't need to. "Obaa-san… it's not-"

"Thank you, Yuki, for staying with an old lady like myself for so long. I've had a great time for the last couple of months. So, don't worry about me." She smiled when Yuki peeked at her. "Yuki, make me proud."

"Yes, thank you, Obaa-san," Yuki choked, bowing low.

'My goodness… this is just like a replay of what happened with me years ago,' Hitsugaya thought, feeling his annoyance rose again. 'I demand copyright!'

Hinamori scratched the base of her neck. 'Man… I never really thought that Obaa-chan might feel lonely,' she thought, embarrassed. 'I'm really too self-centred! Have to change that from now on, especially since the boys were more caring than me! The girl!'

Later that day, instead of two, three people had left the small house. Waving goodbye slightly tearfully, Yuki called out that he would come back whenever he could. The two shinigami remained silent, each deep in their own thoughts. Obaa-san did not cry until the heavy gate had shut behind her three grandchildren, her tears tracked uneasily down her wrinkled face.

* * *

(1) Kuromori black forest, Yuki snow; one is black and the other white

(2) I'm not entirely sure I've got this right but in Japan, the deceased's body will have to wait for forty-nine days, or seven weeks, before it can be cremated. The soul of the deceased will be judged once a week by the King of Hell, Enma Dai-Ou, and during this period of mourning, people do not go to weddings, festivals or celebrate New Year.

Vocabulary

Konsou – Soul Burial

Nagajuban – the white under-garment that one wears underneath kimono.

Zouri – cloth, leather or grass woven sandals.

Seireimon – the gate of Seiretei.

Please review so I will be able to know what you think. It is very important to me!


	2. Back to School

I'm glad that this fiction had interested some people as I wasn't sure about it. To tell the true, I only have a general idea as to where this story is going but it is still interesting for me to think up more stuff to write about.

This chapter, and the next one, will be mostly about Yuki's life in the Academy. I know it might not be as exciting when none of the Ichigo crews are yet to be involved but I believe that there should be some stories about the Academy. This is why I will be writing about it yet pretty much rush though most things, only giving a general idea.

That's all; I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

* * *

Chapter two

Yuki was very lucky to have entered the Seiretei when he did, because it was only a couple of days before the first day of Shinigami Academy, the Shinoureijutsuin, started. Unfortunately, that had also mean he had to fill out mountains of paperwork. Normally, if he had gone through the right process from the very beginning of the enrolment period, he would not have so many troubles now. Instead, he had to rely on Toushirou to pull some strings and tried to fit two months worth of procedures into the space of four days.

Although he was kind of thankful for the necessary rush; he believed he had troubled the white-haired boy for long enough as he was living in his house at the moment.

When he had finally filled out all the required forms in Toushirou's living room on the second day and had taken the tests the next day, he was immediately swept off to get a physical examination. After receiving a most intense bath that included multiple scrubs and bars of soap, despite his protests that he had one the night before, he was shoved into a white room that reminded him of school infirmary, in nothing but his undergarment nagajuban.

"Ku-Kuromori Yuki-san… right?" his doctor stuttered, grabbing the clip board in his hands so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Yes!" Yuki quickly jumped up from his position on the floor and immediately added, "Shinigami-san," when he noted the status of the doctor.

Blushing crimson, the shinigami bowed deeply. "Umm… My name is Yamada Hanatarou from the 4th Division a-and I'll be the one doing your health check for today," he introduced. "And please just call me Hanatarou…"

"Okay, Hanatarou-san," Yuki said, warming up to the man that definitely lacked self-confidence.

The health examination was done swiftly as it was just a simple check-up using various devices. Hanatarou had secretly let on that these tests also measured the currently level of reiatsu each students had. He also explained about the classes and things that would be taught in the Academy. In the end, the two had basically sat down and chat, one talked about life in Seiretei and the other about the current modern Japan.

Neither of them noticed the time until someone banged on the door. "Oi! Open up! What's taking you so long?" he yelled rudely. "I know you're in there, 4th Division! Get out!"

Hanatarou jumped up so suddenly that the chair he was sitting on toppled over and landed with a crash. "So-Sorry!" he cried, throwing the door open.

Yuki had a hard time not to burst out laughing.

The door was designed to swing outwards and, with the person outside not expecting such a fast response, Hanatarou had managed to knock that person off his feet and out-cold.

"I'm so sorry!" Hanatarou yelled, crying now. Yuki chuckled and help the shinigami to carry the unconscious teenage on to the lone bed in the room. "What do I do now!?"

"He deserved it," Yuki tried, pulling Hanatarou away from fussing over the boy in the blue Academy uniform. "He's only a student yet he took such a haughty tone with you!" He looked down and couldn't help but pitied him. Apparently, Hanatarou had managed to break this unknown teenager's nose which now lay crooked amongst a spreading patch of bruises, making his face unrecognisable. The only prominent feature was the _chonmage _hairstyle commonly associated with a samurai or sumo wrestler. "Ouch…"

Hanatarou pushed his fingers together repeatedly. "I- I'm used to it, the 4th Division is often treated like that so…" he mumbled. "A-At least let me straighten his nose."

"Oh…" the other boy trailed off, remembering that Hanatarou had told him about his day-to-day jobs which consisted of cleaning the sewage and toilet, making dinner for other Divisions and so on. "All right… but we're leaving after that. I don't think you'd want him to remember your face."

"Bu-But he knows I'm in the 4th Division!"

"Because only the 4th Division is specialised in medicine, so I don't think he knew who you were," Yuki explained, hoping he was right.

Hanatarou reluctantly left the unconscious teen after giving him one final check. Yuki was all too happy to leave and hope he would never see this guy again. Then, waving goodbye, each boy left to go home with promises to meet up again later.

All too soon, it was the first day of school. Plucking nervously at his uniform in front of the mirror, Yuki jumped when another pair of hands helped to straighten his kimono. "Momo-san! What are you doing here!?" he exclaimed, his heart bursting to get out with freight.

"There's no way I'll miss your first day!" the girl said with a wink. "Especially since Shiro-chan has been hogging you for the last couple of days!"

"Don't call me Shiro-chan," Toushirou came into the guest room, arms folded, "and who's been hogging who?"

Momo poked her tongue out childishly as a reply.

Yuki laughed and turned around to face the other two. He bowed deeply. "Thank you very much for all the things you've done for me," he said seriously, his voice tearing up. "I'll never forget this. Thank you so much!"

Momo smiled happily and even Toushirou cracked one too. "Just get going, you cry-baby," Toushirou muttered, walking away. "Breakfast is ready."

_At the gates of Shinoureijutsuin_

"Welcome, new students," the speaker blared out as people walked in, "This Shinoureijutsuin is an academic institution with a long history of creating future _Onmitsukidou_ and Gotei 13 members…"

Yuki had tuned the rest of the speech out in favour of looking for his name on the board, starting from the wrong end, unfortunately. Finally able to force his way through the throng of people, being elbowed in the head along the way, he nearly started to cry when his name was on the top and he couldn't see it due to his short status. 'Why…'

He looked behind him and found a way taller guy. "Umm… Excuse me?"

"What is it?" that guy asked, looking down. He was a friendly-looking guy with spiky black hair that reflected green and a kind smile. In a way, he kind of reminded Yuki of Ichigo except he had softer features.

"I think my name is on the top of the list but I can't see it," he replied, a blushed staining his face. "So, umm… can you have a look which class I'm in?"

"Alright, what's your name?"

"Thanks, it's Kuromori Yuki."

The guy scanned up the list while muttering, "Kuromori, Kuromori…" He scrunched up his face slightly. "Ah, I see it! What a coincidence, you're in my class! We're in Class 1!"

"Really!?" Yuki's face lit up at the prospect of having a new friend. "What's your name?"

"Sakamoto Takashi, please to meet you," he said, holding a hand out. But he was shoved from behind and crashed into Yuki, almost flattening the shorter boy.

"Move aside, you commoners!"

Yuki jerked – well, as best as he could with a heavy body on top of him – when he recognised the voice. He stared at the bandaged face and started to sweat slightly. 'Don't tell me he's a first year as well…!'

"How dare you block me, Shirosaburo Kenichi-sama's way!? I'm of the Noble family of Shirosaburo! Apologise immediately, you commoners!" the rude guy yelled, arms folded and face furrowed with lines of anger. "Now!"

Yuki stared some more and was unsure as to what he should do. Takashi muttered a quick, "Thank you," before he straightened himself and faced the bully. "Shirosaburo, right?" he said, not caring about his tone. "Stop telling lies just because this little guy is not from Seiretei. Everyone knows that your family is no longer part of the Nobles so you better start to get used to this kind of treatment!"

"Sakamoto-san…?"

"Takashi." The taller boy stared with a smile until he had creeped Yuki out to repeat after him.

"Takashi-san-"

The boy shook his head and frowned this time. "Ta-ka-shi. Takashi!"

Yuki grinned. "Alright, alright! I get it, Takashi," he said, already forgotten about someone.

"Let's go to our classroom, why don't we?"

Shirosaburo stamped his feet. "How dare you- How dare you ignore me! I'm the Shirosaburo Kenichi-sama! Respect me or else I'll-" he trailed off as no one was within the range of three meters radius. "Dammit! I hate my life…"

"Is it alright to leave that guy behind like that, not that I like him or anything," Yuki wondered, running slightly to catch up with Takashi's longer pace.

"Just ignore that bully, he's all barks and no bites," Takashi replied, slowing down slightly. "Although his family was indeed one of the Nobles but because of one reason or another, it was kicked out of the list." He flicked Yuki on the forehead with his fingers. "So don't bow down to that guy no matter what! I'll kick your ass if you do!"

"Yeah, yeah… Stop treating me like a kid. It's not like you're older than me or anything," Yuki said, slightly annoyed.

The taller brunet grinned. "Sorry, it's because you're so tiny." He laughed when Yuki bristled at this. "I'm a hundred and eleven years old, I think. You?" The other boy's eyes bulged out and muttered lowly. "What was that?"

"I'm fourteen!" Yuki yelled, his face red once again. He quickly ran ahead, too embarrassed to face the other for the moment.

"Oi! Wait up!" Takashi cried, chasing after the frantic boy and easily caught up with him.

Arriving at their classroom, Yuki slid opened the door and walked in, ignoring Takashi's bursts of giggles at random intervals. Finding himself to be the first couple of people in the room, he quickly found himself a seat near the front so he could see better once the class had started.

Takashi voluntarily took up the job of telling Yuki about their future classmates – the ones he knew – that were in and coming into the room. He had noted with slight annoyance that most of the people were og the Noble families and were often famous for their stuck-up personalities.

Yuki nodded his head, trying to keep up with the rattling list of names and characters and knew he would forget about them before the hour was up. All well, he just hope that he could make more friends in this world, knowing that he no longer had the ridiculous need to hide from his stalker.

The door slid open again to admit the newcomer. "YOU! It's YOU TWO again!"

Yuki banged his forehead repeatedly on the desk and cursed his bad luck. "Crap…"

Takashi's eyebrows twitched. "I can't believe this… You're actually smart enough to get into this class? Shirosaburo," he muttered in shock, knuckling his eyes to make sure. "Damn…"

Shirosaburo tossed his nose and winced when it throbbed with pain. "I don't know what you're talking about," he gritted out, stalking away to find a seat as far as possible away from the two.

"Just my luck," Yuki groaned, "to have the bully of the year in my class." He looked over at the other boy. "Let's do our best to resist the urge to pummel him."

"Yeah…"

"Quieten down, everyone, class is about to start –_de aru_!" a man yelled, walking through the door, accompanied by the rings of the school bell. Hearing this, the students immediately settled down and shut their mouths.

'Geh!' Yuki thought, looking at the man who now stood in front of the blackboard with his arms folded. 'I've always been scared of this kind of man.'

Indeed, their instructor, Oounabara Gengorou, was a fearsome looking man. Standing at a height that towered over most men, his body mass was made up mostly of muscles instead of fat. The thin-rimmed glasses he wore did not soften his face one bit, they only served to enhance his sternness. There were more points that could be mentioned but Yuki had already buried his face in his arms before his analysis could reach up to that point.

'This… This got to be the worst year of my life! Not only did I die, I'm also spending one whole year with the people I can't deal with!' the poor boy mentally sobbed. 'He kind of reminded me of that Ishida-something guy from school though… without the muscles and all that.'

"Hah!" the instructor heaved out from his lungs, his diaphragm working, and Yuki quickly looked up, fearing for the man's wrath. "Attention –de aru! I am your primary instructor, Oounabara Gengorou –de aru." Then he went on explaining the significance of being in Class 1 which came as a great surprise to the short boy.

'So that was what Takashi was talking about before when he insulted that guy,' he realised, starting to doubt his own abilities. 'How the hell did I get into this class?'

From that day, Yuki had tried to work hard, well, as hard as he could without being constantly distracted by Takashi. While not like the taller boy who was often the top of class for many things, he was certainly not at the bottom. He had discovered that he liked Kidou classes way better than the swordsmanship classes where he often found himself being the sandbag of his opponent. Due to this, he was proud to say that he had almost perfected the Art of Hightailing-out-of-there. Of course, that would usually end with a stern lecture from his instructor.

"Yuki, you do know that all the shinigami are given a katana to use, right?" Takashi had asked one day after watching the said boy being beaten once again in a duel. "How are you going to survive if you don't improve your skills a little?"

Yuki thought a bit before replying with a shrug, "I suppose I'll just have to practice harder."

"That is so not an answer!"

"Then what the hell do you want me to say!"

_One afternoon, couple of months after the first day_

"Yuki! Where the hell are you, Yuki!"

Startled out of his catnap, the boy looked down and saw his friend below. "What is it, Takashi?" he asked, dropping out of the tree to land softly beside the surprised boy.

"Don't do that!" the brunet all but screeched. Calming himself down by taking big breathes, he recomposed quickly. "A taichou and fukutaichou are coming today for the annual inspection of the Academy!" he said excitedly. Grabbing the other boy by the arm, he tore off in the direction of the main gate to watch the show. "If we miss out, it's all your fault!"

"Nobody asked you to look for me…" Yuki muttered, allowing himself to flop behind the hyper boy. Seeing the growing mass of people, he immediately wished that he had never responded to Takashi's call.

"Yuki…"

"Eh?" Feeling his body slowly being lifted up, Yuki hoped that his friend was not going to do what he thought he was thinking to do. "Takashi… can you please put me down?" he asked sweetly, cold sweat running down his back.

"Get a good look at them for me!" Takashi screamed, hurling the body in his hands over the heads of the others.

"Gyaaa!" Yuki screamed as he was sent flying through the air in the most undignified way. Crashing and rolling across the cleared path for the two important people, he forced himself to come to a stop. Quietness descended upon the mob as those who could stare at the boy. "Ouch…" he moaned, sitting up and winced again. Realising he was in the centre of attention; he quickly crawled to the line of people and stood up.

"What the hell is that boy doing?" Toushirou muttered, seeing the whole thing from the outside of the gate.

"Taichou? What was that?" his partner asked, leaning down to peer into his face.

"It was nothing. Let's go, Matsumoto."

Walking confidently through the huge gate, the two made their way down the path to reach the building at the end. Toushirou kept his frown while Rangiku adopted a more serious expression. The students remained in a respectable silence with most of the male population admiring the impressive figure of the female fukutaichou. A couple of girls sighed quietly and melted slightly at the cuteness of Hitsugaya Toushirou despite the fact he was hundreds of years old and had enough power to wipe the entire Academy out easily.

'Toushirou-san!' Yuki was now happy that he was here – it had been ages since he last saw the boy and he was glad. He smiled slightly which widened when he saw a corner of Toushirou's lip lifted slightly upward into a smirk as he walked past.

It was good to see him again.

When the celebrities were gone, the crowd had swiftly dispersed. Easily catching sight of the tall boy, Yuki quickly caught up with Takashi. Before he could open his mouth to greet, the brunet had already grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

"Did you see her!?" he asked breathlessly. "Bloody Hell, she's a beauty!"

"You sound like a perverted old man," Yuki gritted out, his face forced against a chest. "And I bet your eyes were nowhere near her face."

"How rude!" Takashi sniffed, dropping his friend on the ground. But his face immediately took on a sickly sweet expression. "If only…" sighed, "if only I could work with her. Be her fukutaichou or even better! Taichou!" Then he went off daydreaming about his 'heroic life with a beautiful woman on his side'.

Yuki stared dumbly. "I thought he would be more mature as he is older…" he murmured. He shrugged, and went to prepare for his next class which happened to be his favourite, Kidou.

_At the Shinoureijutsuin office_

"Hitsugaya-taichou-dono, Matsumoto-fukutaichou-dono! Welcome to Shinoureijutsuin!" the tour guide, a far too nervous fifth year student, said shrilly. He winced at the high pitch of his voice but he couldn't really help it! "Umm… So, should we go?" He quickly moved on when he received a tensed nod from the short taichou, carefully walking on the side and not in front of the two.

The morning passed with the poor student slowly building up a heart attack. It wasn't like he was scared of the two important guests, in fact, he admired them a lot. Problem was, this was exactly the reason why he was so nervous, far too eager to please. And Hitsugaya-taichou-dono was not helping by his cold silence that even his bubbly fukutaichou could not melt.

"Umm… He-Here's the Kidou target practice arena and currently," he checked the timetable he had with him, "the Class 1 of the first year students is here practicing."

"Next group step forward!" the instructor yelled as the destroyed targets slowly lowered themselves to allow their relatives to rise to their deaths. A line of people stood up and moved neatly forward. "_Hadou_ practice, start!"

"Yes sir!"

Toushirou's eyes swept uninterestedly across the heads and stopped when he saw a familiar flop of brown hair. 'He should really get the hair of his sorted out,' he thought, thinking of a mop and mentally snickered. 'Let's see how he had improved for the last few months.'

"I command thee!" Yuki muttered, concentrating on getting the incantation right as a red glow surrounded him. "Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man. Scorching heat and disturbances, split the seas and send the surging waves south! Hadou 31 – Shakkahou!"

A red ball of energy shot from his overlapping hands and was sent straight and true towards the target. It gave a soundless scream before it was blasted into nothingness, leaving only a smothering pole behind. A collective of murmur rose. "Okay, next!"

Giving a silent cheer, Yuki quickly moved back to his seat, his eyes catching their new audience on the way. He blushed slightly. 'Why is he here!' he wondered, sitting down without looking up again.

"Yuki! Watch out!"

Jerking his head upwards, the short boy had to dive out of the way of a red ball of energy. Slamming into the ground and rolling to a standing position in one fluid movement, this display of fabulous acrobat was destroyed when he was blown off his feet by the blast from the attack. The place he was sitting a moment ago was now a smoking hole, giving him an idea of what would've happen if he had remained there.

"Takashi! Find a more creative way if you want me dead!" Yuki yelled, climbing wearily up.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" the brunet ran over and helped his friend to stand, a smile playing on his lips. "I swear, you're like a magnet to my reiatsu."

"You wish! I bet you weren't looking at the target but 'her'!"

"Sorry to stop your lover's spat," the instructor said sarcastically and even Takashi blushed, "but Sakamoto, stay after school for more practice!"

"Yes…"

"You can just tell that those two are going to be some damn good shinigami," Rangiku said to her taichou, seeing the potential in them. "But this is somewhat cliché as well."

Toushirou did not comment but he agreed as well. 'I'll have to talk Hinamori later otherwise she'll pester me for news of Yuki…" he thought, not finding himself disliking the idea of a visit. 'All well, it's high time that Matsumoto does some paperwork.'

"All right, that's all for today. Dismiss!"

"Thank you sensei!"

Intending to go back to the dormitory to get a much needed shower, Yuki frowned when the last person he wanted to see blocked his way. "What is it, Shirosaburo?" he sighed, feigning ease while his body was tensed for any sudden movement.

The 'samurai' sneered and jabbed at the boy in front of him. When it was evaded, he pretended he was going to point all along. "Trying to show off in front of our guests, are we?" he said nastily which only made Yuki sweat-dropped.

'My goodness, are we all so immature today?' he wondered but kept his trap shut. Walking away, the best solution in this situation, he was once again stopped.

"We are not done here!"

Yuki cocked his head to one side. "Then what is it you want with me? Embarrass me? Shoot me down?" he listed, really confused. "You know that you're only embarrassing yourself."

Shirosaburo's face flushed purple – more angry than humiliated – he pointed a finger at Yuki's face. "Kuromori Yuki! I, Shirosaburo Kenichi challenge you to a fair duel in the presences of the honourable Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou!" he yelled loud enough for all of those were in the building to hear.

'How did he come up with that crap,' was the first thought that flashed through the short boy's mind before he fully registered the implications behind these words. "Eh!?"

"This is interesting," Takashi commented, nodding his head. His friend rounded on him.

"Is that all you can say!?"

The instructor, who was still there and had watched the whole thing, came forward, not to stop the nonsense but to encourage it. In his opinion, as long the 'duel' was done fair and square with set rules, he saw no reason to stop it. "Kuromori, do you accept this challenge or not?" he asked, taking up the role of the referee.

Yuki scratched his head and wondered how things had turned out this way in the span of less than ten minutes. "What are the terms?" he asked first, having watched enough TV dramas to know the drill.

Shirosaburo was quick to reply. "We are allowed our practice katana and can use Kidou and hand-to-hand combat. The first person to be on their knees for more than ten seconds will be the looser and will have to do what the winner say for a week!"

"You really have thought this out, haven't you?" This was from the instructor who knew about the hostility between the Shirosaburo and Kuromori and Sakamoto. He shrugged and enquired again, "Kuromori, do you, or do you not accept the duel? If you don't, it will be an instant forfeit and you'll have to follow the terms."

'Eek! That's a bit harsh,' Yuki thought before he nodded his head. "Fine, I accept the challenge."

So, with news travelling like wild fire, the practice dojo – where the duel was held – was quickly filled up. The instructor had asked the two shinigami in the stead of Shirosaburo and, surprising Matsumoto-fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-taichou had agreed to stay and watch.

Standing face to face, Yuki tested the balance of his wooden katana while Shirosaburo stood confidently, twirling his own weapon. The instructor, now the referee, stepped up to his position between them. Repeating the terms, he asked the two opponents one last time about their decisions.

"Of course I'm in! I'm going to beat that shrimp into a pulp!" Shirosaburo said shamelessly, not noticing the killing intent that rose from the taichou who was shorter.

"Yes sir…" Yuki said quietly, hoping that he was anywhere but here.

"If that's the case… You may START!"

Shirosaburo immediately rounded on the other, bring his katana in a downward strike. Although Yuki had successfully blocked the attack, his arms went slightly numb from the force, warning him about the strength of his opponent.

'This guy is really into this!' he thought; hurried to block the series of strikes aiming to off balance him. Using his shortness to the full, he leaned forward, allowing the next attack to slide against his own katana and, before Shirosaburo had realised what had happened, he was already inside. Slamming the flat side of the weapon into his foe's face, the small boy only wished he did not break the guy's nose again.

A cheer from those who could not stand the bully rose briefly. A chant of "Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" went through the crowd until the referee told them to stop.

Quickly recovering, Shirosaburo was up again, only slightly dazed. "Not enough!" he shouted, jarring Yuki's weapon out of his hand. The short boy dodged the next strike and dove after it but his opponent was expecting this and kicked the katana out of his reach. "So… what are you going to do now?" Shirosaburo taunted, advancing towards the other.

Yuki, weapon-less now, seemed to be in a real disadvantage. But he did not looked concerned, instead he was grinning. "I guess I've got no choice but to go all out," he said to himself and slid his body into a side-on position, minimising the attacking area.

"Yuki is in so much trouble now," one of the boy's classmate commented, biting his finger nail.

Takashi grinned and clapped the speaker on the shoulder. "Have confidence in him. He may surprise you!," he said. "I should know," he added as an afterthought.

Yuki beckoned at the other boy. "Come on!"

Infuriated by this show of confidence, Shirosaburo rushed at Yuki, screaming all the way. "Hiyaaa!"

Yuki stepped forward, turning his body at the same time so that the katana harmlessly passed him. Skipping slightly on his right leg, he kicked with his left. With his momentum propelling him forward, Shirosaburo was tripped over by this incredible easy attack. Landing with a heavy thump, he did not have any time to recover when Yuki was already upon him, jerking his right arm upward.

"Ow, ow, ow!" the boy screeched in pain.

Yuki looked over at the shock-filled referee. "Can you please start the count?" he asked politely. The referee jerked and immediately started to count, easily reached ten without and intervention. Standing up, Yuki offered a helping hand to Shirosaburo who ignored it.

'Ho-How can this be!' the loser thought in dismay. "This is not possible! That was no real fight!" he shouted, sprung up at Yuki, unable to admit his defeat.

While surprised, Yuki was still able to defend himself. However, before Shirosaburo could reach him, a shorter body was already in front of him, effortlessly blocking the fist with only just one finger. "This fight is done," Toushirou said coldly and the attacker shrank back in fright. "Do not further shame yourself!"

Being pushed back by the strong reiatsu, Shirosaburo looked down in disgrace. "… I am sorry."

"Taichou." Rangiku leaned down and whispered, "Aren't you being a bit harsh?"

Toushirou merely sniffed before walking away. Yuki hurriedly bowed. "Thank you very much!" he said loudly.

The white-haired boy stopped and muttered, "You did well." Then he was off, leaving Rangiku and the student tour guide running after him.

Feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside, Yuki clasped his hands and sighed. 'Toushirou-san…'

Silence.

Shaking his head violently, he rubbed feverishly at his arm, trying to skin the goose bumps off. 'That was so mushy that it was creepy!' he thought and moved out of the dojo at top speed, getting away from the cheering crowd.

Due to the fact that the first year did not have hand-to-hand combat classes, no one actually knew about Yuki's skills of fighting bare-handed. The thing was, the short boy had started karate and judo ever since the age of six. And because he was often the shortest boy in his age group, he had learnt to fight with people that were bigger than him.

Shirosaburo was no different.

The only reason that Takashi had been so confident was because he had been thrown on to the ground several times before he was satisfied that they weren't just flukes. "That's why Yuki's chances of winning when he didn't have his katana were actually higher," the boy explained to his increasing audience. "This is also one of the reasons why Yuki is so awkward with a katana as the stances for both techniques are really different."

Yuki felt a shiver ran up his spine as he got ready for a shower. 'Damn that big mouth Takashi!' he swore. I should have never told him about my troubles…'

But, in the end, everything had worked out for the short boy as now people were treating him with slightly more respect. Even though Shirosaburo had followed the terms, albeit reluctantly, and was going to do whatever Yuki said for a week, the short boy refused the offer. When the samurai persisted, he merely asked him to leave him along for the next seven days. This had proved to be a great solution as Yuki had a blissful week without any troubles.

Regrettably, once the week was up, Shirosaburo had become a prick again and now hated him even more but, really, he was a pain in the ass and not many people paid much attention to him now..

His swordsmanship classes were still like crap but his life was slightly easier, never less. After all, he was the one that had gotten a praise, despite how small and quiet it was, from the 10th Division taichou. The rest of the year had passed unevenly but bearable. Yuki was really looking forward to his second year in the Academy, finding himself more and more liking his current life.

But in reality, Yuki was not going to have a great a start next year so he should be prepared.

* * *

Well, that's all for now. Please review as I wish to know what you think. I know most people don't actually review because I'm one of those. But still, as a writer, I hope understand what my readers feel about my story.

Thank you.

Vocabulary

Chonmage – the topknot hair style most commonly associated with the Edo period and samurai.

Onmitsukidou – the Secret Mobile Unit or Special Forces or Stealth Force.

-de aru – the slightly politer version of 'desu', used in formal written Japanese.

Hadou – destructive Kidou.


	3. Valentine: Gotei 13 Style

I had this idea ever since I read the Omake: Ise Nanao's Valentine. I hope you will have as much fun reading this as I had writing it.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

* * *

Chapter three – Valentine: Gotei 13 Style

Yuki was a second year student now and fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it, he was in the same class as Takashi again. Sadly, Shirosaburo once again proved that he did have something between his ears and was able to get into Class 1 with them.

While a second year's life was pretty much the same as a first year, this year, the Shinoureijutsuin Student Council had cooked something up for the whole Academy. Something dangerous.

"Valentine's Day!" the poster screamed out. "A LOVE, LOVE day when you give your LOVE one chocolate filled with LOVE! Take this chance, show him your LOVE!"

Yuki sweat-dropped, his eyes hurting from all that pink and sparkles. "Who would have thought that they have this kind of thing here as well?" he asked no one in particular and pondered for a second about the date that the Academy had started. Normally, in Japan, the starting date of schools would be in April which would put the celebration of Valentine's Day at the end of the school year. But for some reason, the school year of Shinoureijutsuin had begun almost randomly and with little warning. He shrugged – not finding the fact particularly important – and rushed off when he heard the school bell ringing.

"Kuromori-kun, please pick one," the class rep said, appearing as soon as Yuki opened the door. She thrust a handful of paper strips under his nose. "Pick one, please." Reacting to the polite request, Yuki chose and pulled a random strip out. White slowly turned into red and the class rep pulled out a large bell from out of nowhere, shaking it. "We've got a winner!" she yelled, smiling happily. "We've got a winner!"

A collection of relieved sighs swept through the room as Yuki stared stupidly at the strip in his hand. "What the-?"

"Yuki, good luck tomorrow," Takashi said, patting the boy on the shoulder. His other classmates crowded around him, murmuring encouragements and prayers.

"What is this!? Can someone please tell what is going on!" he yelled, tempter flaring.

"Kuromori-kun," it was the class rep again, "you are going to be a 'Cupid' tomorrow!"

"…" Yuki stared, a picture of a naked cherub with bows and arrows came into his head. "A WHAT!?"

Apparently, the Head of the Shinoureijutsuin Student Council was a sadist bastard who loved the students of the Academy too much. He knew that the majority of the female students (occasional male students) would often prepare the chocolate but was too shy or scared to give it to their crushes. That was why he decided to have 'Cupids'!

The Class 1 from each year group would have to choose someone to be the 'Cupid', who would be assigned to certain sections of school to deliver LOVE! The reason that the 'Cupids' had to be from Class 1 was because they were more advance than the other classes and could afford to have a day off without the worry of not able to catch up.

Receiving enthusiastic responses to this idea, someone had suggested that they should share the spirit of Valentine's Day to their respected Gotei 13. But who would be the 'Cupid' for them?

More correctly, who would be suicidal enough to be their 'Cupid'?

The second year, of course! They were no longer babies and should start to step up into the role of shining role models, sempai to their kouhai!

That was all just bullshit, if you asked Yuki.

Realizing later that he had been set up as all the strips of paper were 'winner', Yuki was still unable to shake off this duty. The argument was that he was the best runner in the whole class therefore he had a higher chance of survival.

He tried to use the bait of the opportunity to meet the Gotei 13 up close, but apparently it was not good enough. Even Takashi refused the prospect of meeting Matsumoto-fukutaichou again.

Cursing his luck, the short boy swore if someone told him that he had to dress up as a cupid, he was so going to jab that person in the eyes and, if it was a male, kick him in the groin.

So, arriving at school the next morning to the sickly sweet smell of chocolate, he nearly fainted at the mountain of sweets he had to deliver. "Kuromori! His instructor yelled, jerking him out of his self-pity. The man pointed. "There are two more."

No one blamed the boy when he burst into tears.

'I guess I better move on…' Yuki thought and hiccupped.

"Kuromori," the instructor choked off. "It was… I had a good time knowing you!" With that, he ran back into the building, leaving a very disturbed boy behind.

Although he could now carry a lot of weight because of his trainings, Yuki was still unable to carry every chocolate so he decided to start with the most popular Divisions and work down from there. Armed with a special pass that allowed his entry in and out of the all the Divisions, he was off, hoping he would live to see another sunrise.

_On the grounds of Division 10_

"Why the hell is there a day like Valentine's Day," Hitsugaya grumbled out, staring at the pile of sweet that took up an entire corner of the room. He glared at his lazy fukutaichou who was napping on the couch. "Matsumoto, paperwork!"

Pretending not hear the command, the beautiful woman drawled, "It's all about love, taichou. Which reminds me, Happy Valentine's Day." She tossed her own box over to the boy. "I'm expecting something on White Day!"

Hitsugaya sighed deeply knowing that, as a responsible person, he was going to get really sick from eating all that chocolate for the next couple of weeks. Also, there would be a large depletion in this month's salary. 'Damn…'

"And I think there's gonna be a 'Cupid' coming to give chocolate from Shinoureijutsuin," Rangiku added, eating the extra chocolate that she had made.

''Cupid'! I wonder which poor bastard in doing that,' Hitsugaya thought, putting Rangiku's chocolate into a drawer instead of on the pile. Next to it was another box which had came from Hinamori who had visited him earlier that morning.

"Please excuse me," a voice on the other side of the door said politely. "Are Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou here?"

"What is it?" the taichou of the 10th Division called, his hands did not stop working. "Open the door."

"Yes!" The door slid open to admit a view of a very familiar kneeling figure. "I am Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin," blushed, "the 'Cupid' that delivers…"

"Yes?" Rangiku prompted, far too happy, when the boy ended up muttering.

"The 'Cupid' that delivers love to you!"

Only his self-control had prevented him from screaming and fleeing the place. He had absolutely refused to capitalise the 'love' as he was instructed to – he still had, however small and shredded it was, some dignity left.

Rangiku burst out laughing, banging her fist repeatedly on the coffee table while Hitsugaya turned his face away, the brush in his hand nearly snapped into two. Yuki kept his head low and swore he would throttle the Student Head no matter what and shove a practice _bokken_ up where sun didn't shine!

"Yuki," Hitsugaya muttered.

"Yes, Hitsugaya-taichou."

The taichou gave a very uncharacteristic smile. "I'm going to tell Hinamori and Obaa-san!"

Yuki glared, surprising Rangiku. 'Do they know each other?' she wondered.

The short boy then suddenly had a good idea. "As I was saying, I am the 'Cupid' that delivers chocolate from Shinoureijutsuin," he said, pushing the door wider. Hitsugaya involuntarily leaned back on his seat at the sheer size of the mass.

"Don't tell me…!"

"That's right, Hitsugaya-taichou. You've gotten very popular with the students after your visit last year," Yuki said, pushing the staggering pile forward which easily toppled over and spilled all over the floor. "Please do not worry about White Day as the Student Council had decided that it would be too much of a burden on the Gotei 13." He then, from his backpack, pulled out a much smaller stack of boxes. "These are for Matsumoto-fukutaichou." (1)

Rangiku blinked. "Me?" she asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes, there are some students that admire you a lot." Yuki bowed low and continued, "If you will excuse me, I still have more deliveries."

"Where will you be going next?" Hitsugaya asked, slightly ticked off at the mess his office was in now.

"The 6th Division, Kuchiki-taichou," Yuki replied, the thought itself was enough to make him sweat.

Rangiku winced. "Good luck," she said.

"Thank you." With one last bow, he closed the door and left.

Hitsugaya stared. "Where do you think you're going, Matsumoto."

"Urgh!" The woman stopped in her track and looked back. "Umm… Watch the show?" she tried and winced when the white-haired boy glared.

Hitsugaya placed the calligraphy brush down and stood up. "Let's go."

"For real!?"

Now Yuki had two stalkers behind him.

_Outside the 6__th__ Division's office_

Taking a deep breath before Yuki forced himself to knock on the door. "Please excuse me; this is Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin. Are Kuchiki-taichou and Abarai-fukutaichou here?" he called out, keeping his head low.

The door quickly opened. "Heh, he's really here!" A man with shocking red hair said, looking down at the small form. "The 'Cupid'."

Yuki coughed. "Yes, I'm the 'Cupid' that deliver's-"

"Don't need it," Kuchiki-taichou said, still working. "Just give them to Renji; goodness knows how much he needs it."

Calming the angry fukutaichou by giving him his stack of chocolate, although considerably smaller, Yuki tried to persuade him again, "Everyone had worked really hard to make their chocolate for you, Kuchiki-taichou. Please accept them!" Sniffing slightly, he almost begged, "If you don't take them, I will get killed by the fan girls!"

Kuchiki-taichou looked unconcerned. "It's got nothing to do with me."

'I really hate my life right now…' Yuki thought, but he had come prepared, armed with knowledge that came from his extensive research on the Gotei 13 the previous day. "Kuchiki-taichou, there is a rule that says you cannot refuse the chocolate that someone gives you on Valentine's Day," he said, pushing the pile in. "This is why, in the place of the girls in Shinoureijutsuin, I am giving these chocolate to you. Sorry to disturb you."

Then he was gone, leaving only an after-image behind with a note on about White Day on the pile of chocolate. Renji blinked, a piece of chocolate hanging from his mouth. "That was fast…"

Byakuya frowned slightly. "If that is the rule, I guess it can't be helped."

Renji stared at his taichou. 'He didn't really believe that boy, did he?' he wondered. 'I know that taichou is really big on rules and all that, but to think that boy actually knows about it…' Shrugging, he went back to his paperwork. He was a responsible person after all.

"Oi, Renji, Renji!"

The said man turned around and nearly screamed when he saw a face pressed up against the window behind him. "Ran-Rangiku-san!" he hissed and the woman gestured for him to come out.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as soon as he was outside. "I had to make up some random excuses to Kuchiki-taichou to come out!" He paused. "Hitsugaya-taichou! You're here as well!"

The boy turned his face away in slight denial.

"We're following that boy, do you want to come?" Rangiku asked, very excited. "Looks like things are getting interesting around here!"

It didn't take really long for Renji to decide as it was far too exciting, even if Hitsugaya-taichou was here as well. "Oh! I'm coming with you! Let's go!"

"But do you know where that boy is?" Hitsugaya asked, watching the two fukutaichou doing their little dance.

Rangiku paused, an arm still raised in a cheer. "Damn… That's right! We can search his reiatsu!" she suggested. The two shinigami spent the next five minutes searching only to discover they couldn't find him at all. "Either his reiatsu is really weak or he's good at hiding it…"

The white-haired boy was motionless through the whole thing. "No use, it's almost impossible to find his reiatsu," he said, muttering to himself but the other two overheard it anyway who gave each other a look.

Renji looked over and asked the other two, "Does he have an order? Did Hitsugaya-taichou have a lot of chocolate as well?"

"That's right!" Rangiku slammed her fist against her palm. "Since both of taichou have heaps of sweets, the possibility of Yuki going to someone popular is high. Who else is popular in the Gotei 13?"

Renji pondered. "It would probably be Ukitake-taichou or Aizen-taichou."

The female fukutaichou frowned then suddenly clapped her hands in delight. "Let's go to Ukitake-taichou's place first!" she suggested. When Renji asked why, she wriggled her finger. "Woman's sixth sense!"

Arriving quickly at the 13th Division, the three peeked through the window to find the two 3rd seated officers fighting over who could carry more chocolate. Then Ukitake was suddenly at the window. "What are you two doing here?" he asked, sliding the glass panel open. "Eh? Even Hitsugaya-taichou is here."

"Was the 'Cupid' here?" both fukutaichou asked at the same time.

Ukitake blinked and started laughing. "He was here all right!" he said. "I offered him a cup of tea but he left, saying he needs to go to Sousuke-kun's place."

"Then we got to hurry!" Rangiku yelled, already out of the place with Hitsugaya in the lead. Renji quickly gave a polite bow and ran off as well. Ukitake was left behind, wondering what had happened.

"Ukitake-taichou! P-Please accept my Valentine's!" his 3rd seated officer, thankfully the girl, breathlessly yelled, offering the chocolate.

"That's not fair! I lo- respect taichou the most! I should be the one giving him chocolate!" Sentarou, the male 3rd seated, shouted. "And I just happen to…" He pulled something out but it was kicked out from his hand by his rival, the cursed Kotetsu Kiyone.

"That's disgusting! Why would Ukitake-taichou accept a chocolate from man! I lo- I mean, I respect taichou more!"

The squabble went on a while further until their taichou had to shut them up.

_At where the three stalkers were_

Having easily caught up with the boy by using shunpo, the three shinigami hid their presences and started stalking the unaware student. Looking ahead, Renji noticed that someone was coming towards them. 

'It's-!'

"Yuki-kun!" Hinamori waved, happy to see the boy.

"Momo," Yuki greeted, after making sure that there was no one around.

Hinamori had made Yuki to promise her to call her without the honorific, when they were alone or with people they knew. Even Hitsugaya had requested the same thing and Yuki was only too happy to comply. But he did complained slightly about the whole honorific thing, being brought up to be always polite. A couple of whacks on the head from the two shinigami had soon set him straight.

Sadly, the chances that he actually used such intimate titles were limited as the three did not meet often. And even if they did, there was usually some other people there. So it was very rare that Yuki and Hinamori could meet up alone.

Though, the thing was, they didn't know they weren't alone.

Renji and Rangiku ogled at each other, eyes wide in surprise. They then both looked down at the white-haired taichou, the question on the tip of their tongues. Hitsugaya did not answer, instead he pointed at the two chatterers.

"So, Yuki-kun, what had brought you here?" Hinamori asked, shifting the files in her arms slightly. "And why do you have such a large baggage on you back? Wait, don't tell me-!"

Yuki looked down and muttered in annoyance, "Yes, you're right. I am the 'Cupid'…" He glared when the girl burst out laughing. "There's no need to laugh so hard!" he cried, almost wanting to stomp his feet.

Wiping a tear away, Hinamori managed to choke out, "So-Sorry. We-Well, where are you off to now?"

Yuki inclined his head slightly. "To the 5th Division; Aizen-taichou is quite popular at the Academy amongst the girls." He took a step back when he noticed a vein popped on the smiling girl's forehead. "Umm… Momo?"

"Yuki-kun, please give me those chocolate," she asked nicely but the outstretched hand seemed very determined.

"Momo, you know as well as I do I can't do that…" The boy backed away, now clutching on to his pack more tightly. He almost slipped when he thought he could see the Devil herself behind the advancing girl.

"Don't worry, I'll get them to Aizen-taichou, so if you will…"

Yuki knew that there was no way that Hinamori would give them to the taichou of 5th Division. He looked at his wrist and laughed awkwardly. "Would you look at the time!? Sorry, Momo, but I got to go," he said even though he didn't own a watch.

This was when Yuki showed off how well he had practiced the Art of Hightailing-out-of –there. He was not a fast runner when he was alive, but ever since he started studying in the Academy, he had trained himself to move fast to avoid getting pummelled in _zanjutsu_ classes.

By gathering reiatsu in his feet, he could move in a way that looked like he had just vanished and appeared somewhere else. Although easy in concept, it was actually very hard to control. If he did not keep an equal amount of reiatsu when he landed, he would either not able to stop himself and crash, or stop too suddenly and face-plant. Neither option seemed very useful when one was chasing someone.

Or running away from someone.

Disappearing and appearing at the end of the corridor, Yuki mentally apologised before he was off again. Not giving up, Hinamori chased after him, using her own technique.

"… Taichou, did that boy just use shunpo?"

Hitsugaya frowned, surprised himself as well. "Maybe he did…"

It had turned out that Yuki had unintentionally learnt one of the most important techniques for shinigami – shunpo. Perhaps desperate time could force some hidden potentials to rise and surface.

Yuki had soon arrived at the door to the office of the 5th Division. Understanding that the girl was right behind him, he quickly knocked on the wood. "Aizen-taichou! This is Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin; here to deliver Valentine's Chocolate from the Academy."

"Come in," a deep, vibrating voice drifted through, piercing the kneeling boy.

While the voice should have been smoothing and kind, Yuki had felt uncomfortable. "Thank you!" He slid the door opened and bowed. "Please accept these Valentine's chocolate. The Student Association of Shinoureijutsuin had asked taichou not to worry about the gifts for White Day as we do not wish to put any burden upon you," he said politely.

"Thank you, Yuki-kun. Would you like a cup of tea?" Aizen asked kindly, looking at the boy.

Shaking his head furiously, Yuki stammered that he still had more places to go. Feeling a shiver running up his arms, he had one more reason to go. With one last bow, he practically sprinted out of the 5th Division, a cry of anger from his female friend rose briefly behind him.

Hinamori watched the fleeing boy as he ran past the gates and she stomped her foot in anger. 'Mou… At least he could wait until I have given mine…'

Wiping the sweat off from his forehead, Yuki temporarily rested underneath a tree. 'Why is it…' he huffed, 'that I'm scared of Aizen-taichou?' He could not understand this as he had not met the man before and all the stories he had heard about the taichou of 5th Division were nothing but good ones. This question had played on his mind until he prepared to move to go his next destination.

Then it hit him.

'He feels exactly like my stalker!' he realized and shivered again. 'That deep voice… Urgh!' He sprinted off, trying to leave his disturbing thoughts behind him.

Surprisingly, his next stop was the 11th Division. The eyes of his three stalkers widened when he entered the grounds of the 11th Division, unable to believe that Zaraki Kenpachi could rank the fifth popular amongst the Gotei 13.

Knocking on the opened office door, Yuki once again called out, "Please excuse me, this is Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin. Is Zaraki-taichou present?" A head appeared and Yuki nearly burst out laughing. 'What are those things on his face!' he wondered, working hard to keep his face straight. It was the fifth seated officer, Ayasegawa Yumichika.

"Taichou is not here at the moment," Yumichika said, arms full of files. "He's over at the training dojo. Are you the 'Cupid'?"

Unable to avoid the question, Yuki could only reply, "Yes sir." He then proceeded to stare dumbly at the expecting outstretched hand. "Umm… I am sorry, but…?"

"Well, since I'm so beautiful, of course I'll have heaps of Valentine's chocolate from my adoring fans," Yumichika said, tossing his shiny hair. "Come on, don't make me wait!"

Yuki kept his head low, his leg muscles tensed. "I'm sorry, Ayasegawa-san but I do not have any Valentine's chocolate for you." He quickly went on when the man in front of him was shocked to silence, "But I am only assigned to the taichou and fukutaichou of Gotei 13, so I'm not sure about the other arrangements." In reality, he did know and Ayasegawa Yumichika was not going to get any chocolate today.

Hurriedly leaving a brawling shinigami behind, Yuki made his way towards the practice dojo after asking a scary-looking guy for directions. Arriving to the sound of swords clashing and loud cheering, he attempted to draw attention to himself by knocking on the open door. When that didn't work, he had to try yelling instead. "Excuse me! Zaraki-taichou! Please excuse me!"

"Who the hell is being that polite here!?" a giant of a man growled, looking around with the bells on his hair jingling. "Who the heck was it!?"

Everyone pointed at the figure in Academy uniform by the door. "He did!"

Yuki gulped and was hurried to bow. "I-I'm Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin, he-here to deliver love to Zaraki-taichou!" he said and forced himself not to fidget when this was met by silence.

Kenpachi cleared his ear. "_Gaki_, what did you just said?" he asked, his tone dangerous.

Yuki was shaking and sweating by now. "Umm… I'm the 'Cupid' tha-"

"Stop, stop. If you say that one more time I'm going to puke," the tall taichou said. "Yachiru, your sweets 

are here."

"YAY!" A ball slammed into Yuki's midriff, knocking the wind and practically all of his internal organs out of him. "Chocolate! I smell chocolate on you! Gimme! Now!" The little pinked haired girl paused, looked, and clapped her little hands. "Your hair looks like a mop!" she cried. "I'm going to call you _Moppu_-chan!"

"Ku-Kusajishi-fukutaichou!" Yuki winced when the girl bounced on his stomach a couple times more. "I'm afraid these chocolate are not for you…"

"Mou! Moppu-chan is being mean to Yachiru! Ken-chan! Moppu-chan is being mean!" Yachiru jumped off and climbed on to the man's wide shoulder. "Meanie, meanie!"

Kenpachi stood and laid his zanpakutou across his shoulder. 'Isn't there a rule that forbids shinigami from carry their zanpakutou on ordinary days?' Yuki wondered, feeling a migraine coming followed by faintness.

"Gaki, what is this all about," the spiky-haired man growled, standing over the trembling figure. "These are my chocolate; I can do whatever I want with them!" His Division yelled agreements and abuses at the poor student.

That was true but Yuki could not allow that. He had been personally thanked by the female population of the Academy yesterday and, being a liable person, he had to get the huge taichou to at least take a bite from each chocolate. Taking a huge breath, the short boy tried to be as polite as possible without crossing the line that would surely result in his death. "Zaraki-taichou, the students of Shinoureijutsuin had put a lot of effort and care in making their chocolate for you because they admire you. It will bring them great happiness to know that taichou has received and enjoyed their gifts."

Kenpachi, not quite used to having someone so small to disagree with him, rubbed his chin with one hand and held Yachiru down with the other. "So, gaki, what's in this for me," he said, a grin splitting his face. "You know, I'm interested in nothing but fighting so accepting sweet things…? Nah…"

"I know! I know! Have Baldy fight him!" Yachiru suddenly yelled, having wriggled out of the big hand. "Then everyone's happy!"

"Eh?" The said Baldy groaned and almost whined, "I don't wanna fight an Academy student. He'll be no fun!"

And it was no surprise that Yuki was appalled by this idea. "Kusajishi-fukutaichou! I'm just a second year Academy student! There's no way-"

"Just up, gaki. I like the idea." Kenpachi looked over at the light bulb that was practically flashing with annoyance. "Oi, Ikkaku, give that gaki a bokken."

"Oi! Catch!" Ikkaku chucked at Yuki who caught the wooden bokken out of reflex before it could leave a dent on his skull.

"Bu-But, my zanjutsu sucks! An-And there's no way I-I would provide any challenge or amusement!" the short stuttered, dropping the sack on his back and started to move out of the door.

"Gaki, I tell you to fight, you fight!" Kenpachi snarled, scaring the boy to no ends with his scarred face and spiking reiatsu.

"Ye-Yes, sir!"

The rule was that both fighters could use anything other than Kidou – they were short on their monthly Division fund so they couldn't destroy their dojo again – and as long Yuki could land one hit, he would be the winner.

"Umm… How would Madarame-san win?" the unfortunate boy asked, afraid for the answer.

"That's easy," Ikkaku slapped the wood against his palm and flipped the finger, "when you're no long moving!"

"EH!?" Yuki cried, both from his mouth and eyes.

The bald man grinned. "Just joking. We'll stop when you forfeit," he said and folded one arm his back. "Just to make this more interesting, I'll give you a handicap and fight with only one hand."

"Stop all that nagging, just start already!" the impatient taichou yelled, waving at the two to get into position. "START!"

The two fighters stared at each other, both waiting for the other to start. Ikkaku was letting the boy to have the first hand in the fight which usually gave one a slight advantage. That was nice of him, but Yuki was the type of fighter that relied more on defence, using his opponents' strengths against themselves.

This had lasted for another couple of minutes before Kenpachi started to give off a dangerous reiatsu. "Are you two just having me on?" he snarled.

Ikkaku sighed, believing the boy was stupid to give up the chance; he shortened the distance between them in merely a couple of steps. Appearing in front of Yuki in little time, he started the fight with a side cut to the boy's waist.

Leaping up, Yuki unexpectedly used the bokken as a lever and kicked along it, aiming for the shinigami's face. Twisting out of the way, Ikkaku upturned his weapon to off balance his opponent who had leapt off before that could happen.

Rolling through the air and landed on his feet, Yuki immediately shot forward at the other, bringing his bokken to a low swipe at the legs. Such a wide attack was easily seen through and the tall man brought his own weapon down, timing it so it would land on the boy's shoulder.

That was, if the boy was still there.

Using his speed, Yuki was behind and above the man; his strike was aiming for the light bulb all along. 'This is it!' he thought, desperate to finish. He never saw the dark blur, only noticing it when it slammed forcefully into his left side. Landing painfully on the ground, he managed to roll to a squatting position, his bokken in a defensive position. 'Nothing broken,' he found but was having trouble breathing. 'This is actually fun…'

"Sorry, sorry," Ikkaku apologised, sincerity in his voice. "You gave me such a surprise so I've hit you harder than expected."

"It's alright," Yuki said, climbing up. "Let's conti-"

"Zaraki, what do you think you are doing!" a new voice entered the equation, cold and commanding.

"I don't see how it is any of your business," Kenpachi cleaned his ear out and glared at the man in front of him."What are you doing here away from your Division anyway? Hitsugaya."

Of course, there was no way that the white-haired taichou would say he was stalking the 'Cupid'.

Ignoring the question, Hitsugaya countered with one of his own, "Why do you have a mere second year student fighting your third seated officer?" He took another step into the dojo, his tabi-clad feet ominously soundless. "Are you trying to kill him?"

"If I don't know better, I would say you care for that gaki," Kenpachi laughed at the absurdity of the idea with Yachiru joining in just for fun.

The hot, smelly dojo suddenly dropped a few degrees, small patches of ice started to form. "So what if I do…" Hitsugaya whispered coldly, his reiatsu flaring out and his hand wishing for the comfort touch of Hyourinmaru.

"I don't understand what you're so angry about, but we can take this outside." Kenpachi stood up, easily towering over the short boy. "Hitsugaya, do you want to die?"

Before Hitsugaya could reply, Yuki was already in between them. "Hitsugaya-taichou, I've agreed to the terms willingly and I am bound to see this to then end," he told the white-haired boy. "Please allow me to continue."

Hitsugaya glared, every fibber within him protested at this ridiculous idea. But Yuki's determination in his voice and body language had won the silent argument. "Fine, don't die," he muttered and made no move to advance nor leave.

With a brilliant smile, Yuki bowed at Kenpachi and apologized. "Zaraki-taichou, please allow me to continue!"

Kenpachi looked down and his lips slowly split into a dangerous grin. "Alright," he said simply and 

swaggered to his seat to sit down. "But you better make this interesting, gaki!"

Taking a deep breath, Yuki stood in his defensive position, staggering slightly. 'Madarame-san could use his bokken like a spear so I'll have to watch out for his hand movement,' he analyzed, licking his dry lips. 'The only way is to get inside his field…'

Madarame Ikkaku had really thought he had the worst luck to be chosen to fight a boy that was still wet behind the ears. He only liked fighting those who were stronger than him and as bloodthirsty. But, now, he wasn't sure about that anymore. After all, it had been ages since anyone was able to get behind him and, if it wasn't for his reflex, he would have lost already.

Yuki suddenly stood up straight and levels his weapon at his opponent. "Madarame-san, I'm coming!"

Ikkaku jerked slightly but grinned. "Come on!"

The short boy's plan was to rush in and hope he would not get chopped into pieces along the way. It was perhaps the worst idea he could come up with but that was the best he could do for now. So, following the plan, he started running with a battle cry, his goal in front of him. "Hiyaa!"

Then, "What the-!"

He had managed to slip on a slow to melt ice patch that Hitsugaya had created moments before. Sliding underneath Ikkaku's surprised swing of bokken, he had unexpectedly achieved his ultimate aim. With his awkward position of legs in the air and butt wet, there was only one thing he could do. He kicked out blindly, not caring about his target at the moment.

The whole 11th Division sucked in a breath.

"Eep!" Ikkaku went, dropping his guard and landed on his knees, causing Yuki to quickly scramble out of the way. "Oh… my…!" he sobbed, his voice a few pitches higher.

Kenpachi roared with laughter, slapping his knee hard. "Good one, gaki! Good one!" he cried, a cramp starting to form. "To think you would aim for that place!"

"Looks painful…" Yachiru said, seemly concern. But then she started laughing as well. "Baldy's in pain! Baldy's in pain!"

Hitsugaya sweat-dropped. 'I can't believe this is how it ended…'

As most would probably know by now, Yuki had indeed landed a kick where he shouldn't. Let's just say, if Ikkaku wanted to have any intimate relationship with anyone in the next couple of weeks, he would find himself useless in that department.

"I like you, gaki, you've got guts," Kenpachi said, lifting and setting the boy on his feet by the scruff of his kimono. "Kuromori Yuki, eh? I'll remember that." He stood with Yachiru hanging on his right shoulder and slung the sack of chocolate on to the other, looking very much like the evil Santa Claus that he was. "Ikkaku! Stop sobbing! You're a man right!"

"Not for much longer…" the 10th Division taichou muttered.

Yuki cracked his head on the floor, bowing repeatedly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he shouted, so embarrassed as to what he had done. Ikkaku grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head so they came face to face.

Eyes bloodshot, the poor man managed to groan out, "Don't… worry… I-I'm not angry…" Then he finally fainted.

Yuki pretty much fled the room and didn't stop until the 11th Division was well out of sight. Huffing and puffing, he turned his head to look at the calm Hitsugaya who wasn't even sweating. "Toushirou, what were you doing there?" he asked, confused.

"Hmm…" was the intelligent reply. "I was just passing through," Hitsugaya lied and quickly changed the subject, "Where are you off to next?"

Shrugging, Yuki dropped the subject and pulled out a piece of scrape paper. "Let's see… I'll be off to the 3rd Division for Ichimaru-taichou and Kira-fukutaichou," he muttered, a finger tapping beside the names. With a wave, he started running off, yelling, "So, I'll see you later, Toushirou!"

He paused and the white-haired boy behind him stopped as well. "Umm… is there any reason why you're following me?" he hesitantly asked, getting slightly worried.

"I'm coming with you." This reply was firm and left little room to argue.

Well, Yuki was definitely going to use that room!

"But Toushirou!" he almost whined, knowing his voice would annoy the guy. "Toushirou!"

"Are you going to say anything else or do you just like my name!?" the 10th Division taichou snapped, arms folded. Yuki had the decency to blush. "I'm coming with you and that's final! What if something like what happened with Zaraki occurred again!"

Yuki looked stunned. "Are you… worried about me?" he asked incredulously and the serious glare he was given spoke volumes. He scratched his head in slight embarrassment but was glad that there was someone looking out for him.

'What the hell is happening here!?' the remaining, forgotten two stalkers almost screamed, unable to believe what they were witnessing.

"Do you think they knew each other?" Renji asked, jumping after Rangiku as they moved from shadows to shadows. "And Hinamori too. They seemed too familiar with each other, using their given name only!"

"How did you guys find out?"

Renji almost screamed when the said girl appeared behind him. "Hi-Hinamori! Don't do that!"

Hinamori huffed. "I wasn't hiding my presence so you should've felt me miles away!"

"Shush! He'll hear you!" Rangiku hissed out, looking behind her. "You don't want to ruin the fun, do you!?" The other muttered incomprehensible apologies. "We saw you two talking and the fact that taichou went to protect that boy when he was fighting Ikkaku kind of gave the game away."

Thinking that there was no need to hide the facts anymore, Hinamori did not disagree. "Wait, when did you guys started following him? What had happened?" she suddenly realised and was eager for news.

Leaving the woman to fill in the other, Renji looked ahead and saw they were at their set out destination. 'I wonder how many chocolate Kira's getting?' he wondered, feeling competitive. 'I know that Yuki's going from the most popular to the least so I should have more as I'm the second in line!' The fact that Yuki's rank of popularity was based on the taichou of Gotei 13 not the fukutaichou seemed to have lost upon the red-haired man as there was an extra spring in his steps.

"Please excuse me," Yuki said, kneeling in front of the door with Hitsugaya standing behind him, waiting. "Are Ichimaru-taichou and Kira-fukutaichou here? This is Ku-"

The door practically flew open, nearly grazing the boy's nose. "Go away!" Kira Izuru, the fukutaichou of the 3rd Division hissed. "Get those chocolate far away from here! Ichimaru-taichou is-"

"Izuru, is the 'Cupid' here?" a voice slurred and the blond man froze, sweat running freely down his face.

"No, Ichimaru-taichou! He's not!" Kira squeaked, trying to block the boy with his body but was unsuccessful in his attempt.

Practically cart-wheeling out of the room, Ichimaru pushed Kira out of the way and shove his face into Yuki's, causing the boy to yelp and land on his behind. "Give them to me!" he yelled giddily, hands reaching out and grasping. "Come on! Chop, chop!"

Hitsugaya actually took a step back in both surprise and slight fear. 'What the hell has gotten into that man!?" he wondered and thought about chucking chocolates far away from himself so that his fellow taichou would chase after them.

When Ichimaru deemed that Yuki took too long in extracting his cravings and was actually going to steal them for himself, he sped in and out of his office, his zanpakutou swinging. "Hand them over!" he commanded, his red eyes opened eerily and the Academy student found a sharp blade coldly kissing the skin beside his jugular vein.

Yuki did not even dare to breathe in fear of a certain death.

"Please excuse me, Ichimaru-taichou!" Kira pulled the man up, holding him tightly from behind. Ichimaru 

was too disorientated to really care and started swishing his katana around madly while crying out his need for sweets. The fukutaichou tried to explain to the two stunned audiences and unknown stalkers, "Ichimaru-taichou tends to get… well I guess, drunk on large consummation of chocolate. Everyone in the 3rd Division knows about it and would try to ward off the gift bearers every Valentine's Day. Unfortunately…"

He did not need to go on, more like, he could not go on as Ichimaru screamed out, "Shoot him, Shinsou!"

Yuki watched, his mind blank as the blade came closer and closer to skewering his head. His last, coherent thought was, "How come my life isn't flashing before my eyes?" A yank by the back of his neck snapped him out of this stupidity when Hitsugaya pulled him to one side, having been fast enough on his feet to prevent the second, and last, death of his friend.

"Ichimaru! Are you mad?" the white-haired boy cried, unable to believe that the man could release his zanpakutou over something as petty as chocolate.

The man paused in his struggle and Kira released a sigh of relief but did not loosen his hold. Never less, Ichimaru was out of the restriction and was on to Hitsugaya before anyone could prevent it. "Hitsugaya-han!" he shouted, ignoring the foot that was in his face and continued his attempt in hugging the boy. He turned to look seriously at Yuki and said, "I'll take this one." (2)

If the actors of this ridiculous comedy were not the ones currently presented, Yuki would crack a couple of ribs from laughing and die of asphyxiation.

By a miracle, he was able to replace his annoyed – and thoroughly grossed out – friend with a sack of chocolate, Yuki gave a quick bow and was out of the place like an arrow on a bow. Ichimaru whined but soon calmed down when he caught a whiff of the sweetness from the bag. Tearing it apart to find what he had been desiring, he gave a high pitch giggle and dug in.

Kira Izuru could only shove his taichou into their shared office and barricaded the man in with a marathon of apology on his lips. He didn't forget to hide the zanpakutou, knowing that merely one sack of chocolate with not satisfy the other man who would definitely try to find more.

It would be hell for Seiretei if that man was ever let free on a chocolate-induced drunkenness.

Turning away so he could call for some people to bar the door with more metal, Kira's feet came in contact with something soft and rustling. Squatting down to discover that the boy from before had left him his share of chocolate and the fukutaichou's heart warmed at the thoughtfulness. After all, Yuki was closed to being killed yet he was able to remember his duty.

Kira quickly looked behind him when he felt a burst of bloodlust which was quick to fade and a scream that accompanied it. Scratching his head in confusion, he thought the reiatsu had felt strangely similar to that of his friend's, Renji's.

"That was the worst experience ever!" Hitsugaya shuddered, rubbing his arms slightly. He had begun to see the taichou of 3rd Division in new light – though that light was pretty dim and dark. He pressed his fingers to his temple and tried his hardest to erase that particular memory. "Where to now?"

Fishing the paper out yet again, Yuki raked his eyes over the short list before coming with another name. "To the 2nd Division," he said and the other boy started.

"Isn't Soifon a woman?" Hitsugaya asked unthinkingly, slightly shocked that a woman could receive enough Valentine's to rank seventh.

The other boy let his shoulders rose and fell again. "I suppose you won't know but Soifon-taichou is the woman that most girls want to be when they've become shinigami," he clarified. "Things like this often happen, girls giving chocolate to the strongest and handsomest girl – in personality or body – in the class. Then, the chocolate are more like friendship chocolate."

"Right…" The white-haired boy was still unable to understand the complexity of this ridiculous Valentine's Day.

Yuki glanced over at his companion and sighed deeply. "I guess you're still coming with me?" Receiving a look that basically said, 'Are you stupid?' he shrugged again and allowed Toushirou to lead the way.

Renji, still sobbing over the fact that Kira was way more popular than he was, tossed his head and whispered to his friends, "Come on!"

Tension strung high, the three shinigami stalked after the two. They were entering the grounds of 2nd Division with no purpose and this was the place that housed the deadly Onmitsukidou. With little warning, they could be looking down the ends of dangerously sharp weapons with no excuses on their tongues.

Right now, in a way, Renji was kind of envious of Yuki who held free access in and out of the gates.

Before Yuki could reach the office, the woman he was searching for came marching down the hall with her fukutaichou following her, stuffing his face with handfuls of chips. Immediately dropping on to his knees, he waited until the small pair of feet stopped. "If you will excuse my intrusion, Soifon-taichou," he said, politeness practically dropping from his words. Hitsugaya gave a small snort behind him and inclined his head slightly at his fellow taichou.

Soifon frowned slightly. "Who are you? What do you want?" she barked, years of commanding armies had made her voice harsh and strict.

If Yuki had been annoyed by his numerous self introductions, he did not show it. "Yes, ma'am, my name is Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin, here to deliver love to Soifon-taichou." A foot slashed past his cheek, severing a stray strand of hair and the graze on his cheek started to bleed slightly. Eyes wide and too afraid to move, the boy shifted his gaze to the limb by his face.

"Leave," she snarled and sneered at the sack that was presented before her. "I don't want these! They're just from some silly girls and their absurd, _unwanted_ admirations. Better break them before anything manifest!" She swung her foot, bringing it down to strike on the chocolate.

"No!" Yuki managed to push his burden out of the way just in time, though his hand was not so lucky. Feeling the bones in his hand shifting under the skin, he winced quietly. "Please don't say that, Soifon-taichou. The girls really do admire you."

Looking down coldly at the boy by her feet, she grinded her foot, annoyed by the sudden flare of anger. Unpleasant memories rose without warning, and she shook her head to clear it. "Why should I care? It's not my responsibility to care about their feelings!"

Yuki bowed his head and kept the pain out from his voice. "Soifon-taichou, many admire you from afar, wishing that they could be just like you. It is you who gives them the will to do better," he said, hoping the crap he was coming up could sway the woman. "These chocolate are just small tokens of thanks for you; thanking you for the inspirations you've brought them. Please accept them!"

Soifon was gradually accepting the boy's words and she hated herself for it. She knew she shouldn't overlap her own past with those girls' current situation. Of course she didn't have to accept those chocolate, it was not like there's a rule book out there on Valentine's Day.

Unknown to her, the Head of a Great Noble Family somewhere in the 6th Division sneezed uncharacteristically. He quickly looked about him and was thankful his fukutaichou was currently away.

Soifon looked down and slowly eased her foot away. 'Damn… I still have some heart left in me,' she swore and continued her marching down the corridor. Before Yuki could get another word out, she commanded coldly, "Oumaeda, bring the sack to my office!"

Oumaeda, mouth still full, attempted to complain, crumbs flying, but was silenced by a piercing glare. "Yes taichou," he ended up muttering, feeling annoyed. Yanking the sack out from the Yuki's grasp, he had a moment of satisfaction of knocking the small boy head over heels with it. Swaggering after his departing taichou, he suddenly felt a stab of pain when he realised he didn't receive any chocolate at all. He swirled around, an insult already on his tongue, only to discover that he, and the 10th Division taichou, were gone. 'Curses!'

_Outside in the garden_

"Will you get out of there?" Hitsugaya almost huffed in annoyance, staring at the small bit of the white Academy hakama peeking out from a small cave. He aimed a light kick at the trembling darkness. "You've faced Kenpachi so what are you so afraid of?"

Yuki peeked out and immediately shrank back again. "Bu-But they were totally different!" he stuttered slightly, goose bumps rising and falling off from his body to scatter around his feet. "At least Kenpachi-taichou was… was… less complicated!"

When the brown-haired boy continued to refuse to come out, Hitsugaya sighed deeply and physically dragged him out. "We need to get going, it's already after noon," he said, walking off with a struggling 

student flopping behind him.

'I'll never want to see that woman again!' Yuki promised himself, throwing a fist into the air. 'NEVER!'

The next Division was surprisingly was the 1st for both the taichou and fukutaichou. Even Hitsugaya was slightly hesitant to enter the building. "Sorry Yuki, I think I'll have to pass on this one," he said, backing away.

Yuki had tears in his eyes. "But why!?" he wailed.

The white-haired boy actually looked uncomfortable. "Well… I haven't finished all the reports and I know for a fact that Matsumoto would not be in the office working," he said. "I don't want to hear his lecture anymore…"

Hitsugaya was gone before Yuki could take a second blink. "I never knew…" he muttered. With a final sigh, he squared his shoulders and walked forward with as much confidence as possible. Entering the main building with his pass in plain sight – he would stick it on his forehead if he could – he faltered slightly at the entrance. This was, after all, the 1st Division.

A passing shinigami took pity on him and directed him towards a corridor with specified directions. Yuki bowed his thanks and when he straightened, he could feel his heart ramming against his ribs, bursting to get out. His feet obediently took him down the hallway, turned left, through the second door on the right, out the window, over the massive rock, through the secret hidden door, fourteen steps towards North and so on and so forth.

Yuki swore that there was definitely an easier way to get to wherever he was going and that someone was just pulling his leg.

It came so sudden that Yuki actually took a step back. He was standing in a traditional Japanese _karesansui_ garden. It was a surprise but a welcoming one as the small boy found himself calming down by the tranquillity of the nature garden. Continuing towards his destination, he couldn't help but admire the beauty in front of his eyes. He sighed lightly, wishing that he could just stay and not go anywhere else for the rest of the day undisturbed.

"Ara, it seems like we've got a guest."

Yuki was so deep in his thoughts that he had failed to notice that he had stepped into the central area set up for viewing. He had stumbled right into the bubble that the taichou and fukutaichou of the 1st Division had created.

"Ah! So-Sorry," he quickly apologised, bowing deeply. "I-I am Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin, here to deliver lo-love to Yamamoto-taichou-sama and Sasakibe-fukutaichou-sama!" He was being a lot more polite as he was uncertain as to how he should behave. In saying that, he unfortunately still had the guts to say what he just said.

The old man laughed while the gentle-man looking one coughed into his hand. "There's no need to be so formal, child," Yamamoto-taichou said, smiling kindly at the still trembling boy. "I'm actually quite surprised that I am getting any chocolate at all!"

"Well, there are a lot of people at the Academy that admire you and…" he quickly picked out some of the bigger boxes, "these are from you great-great-great… great-grand-daughters." He had lost count half way through and was slightly embarrassed by it.

Yamato nodded his head. "Very well," he said softly and pointed at the empty space beside him. "Please rest for a bit and have some tea with us."

Before he could refuse, Sasakibe-fukutaichou already had a cup for him. Even though he was still edgy, Yuki never less sat down. They didn't talk as there was no need. They merely sat there and watched the beauty in front of them. Gradually, the small boy relaxed his body and started to nod his head, his hands safely cupped the still warm teacup.

By the time he jerked himself awake, he was alone by himself, lying on the bench. A note fell off him along with the taichou's white haori. "This- This is…!?" He quickly picked up the paper, wondering if he had offended one of the most powerful people in Soul Society. Luckily, he did not.

_Yuki-kun, thank you for your hard work today so please rest for a while. Don't worry about the haori, you can give it back to me the next time we meet. _

_Yamamoto-taichou of 1__st__ Division. _

Yuki carefully folded the haori – treasure forever – and placed it in his backpack. 'For some reason… I'm not regretting taking up this task as much now…' he thought and smiled faintly. Taking a look at the sky, he realised if he did not hurry, he would not be able to finish his deliveries today.

Stepping out of the beautiful garden, he wondered briefly when he would be able to come back again. As soon as he stepped out of the grounds of 1st Division, he was ploughed over by a brunette. "Yuki-kun! Are you alright!" Hinamori cried in concern, shaking the boy by the collar of his kimono. "You've been in there for ages! We thought you were dead!"

With his brain shaking in his skull, Yuki managed to hear one important point from that rambling. "What do you mean… 'we'?" he asked in shock. "D-Do you mean…!?"

Matsumoto, Renji and Hitsugaya stepped out from the building they were hiding behind. "Yo! Yuki-kun," the bosom woman greeted with a wave. Renji merely raised a hand.

Yuki blushed deeply. 'Kill me now…'

"So what did happen in there?" Hitsugaya finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Well…" Yuki scratched the back of his head, "I was sleeping." He was instantly punched in the face by a couple of angry shinigami. "What was that for!?"

Hinamori cried quietly, her shoulders shaking slightly. "Do you have any idea how worried I was!" she said. "I thought, I thought you were eaten by Yamamoto-taichou!"

It was Yuki who burst out laughing this time. "Eaten? That's ridiculous! Yamamoto-taichou is a nice man!" Respect practically shone from his eyes. "Moving on…"

He skipped away.

_At the 4__th__ Division_

Unohana sighed in content after she took a sip of her tea. "Such a nice day, isn't it, Isane?" she asked her fukutaichou, calmly looking over at the lands in front of her.

Isane smiled softly and knelt down next to the older woman. "Yes, Unohana-taichou," she agreed. A knock on the door made her stood up again but she was not annoyed, only mildly thinking who it could be. "Yes! Who is it?"

"I-It's Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin, here to deliver love to Unohana-taichou…"

The two shinigami could practically hear the blush in the boy's voice. "Open the door, please," Unohana said with her soft voice. As soon the door opened, the smell of blood filled her senses, causing her to rise abruptly. "You're hurt!" she said in alarm, almost stripping the boy in one fluid motion.

"Ye-Yes, Unohana-taichou!" Yuki hastily shuffled back, pulling his kimono. "But I'm fine! Please!"

"It must have been from your fight at the 11th Division," the medic muttered, her hands already set to work in preparation with Isane helping. "I can never understand what that man is thinking!"

The injuries weren't really that severe – as Yuki had worst during his zanjutsu classes – a humongous bruise on his hand and the left side of his body coupled by one or two bruised ribs. Never less, the older woman would not stop fussing over him.

'Come on!' Yuki thought as he tried to squirmed away only to have Unohana-taichou giving him that eerie smile of hers, forcing him to sit down again but in cold sweat. At her polite but strict instruction, he pulled his arms out from his kimono sleeves and allowed the taichou to examine his side.

"That's a nasty bruise you've got there, Yuki-kun," Isane said, pressing a cold towel against it. She gave the boy a kind smile before moving away. Yuki merely blushed.

"Umm… if it is possible, can Unohana-taichou please check on Ikkaku-san as well?" the boy asked, getting dressed again. "I've… kicked him where I shouldn't have," he explained, his face heating up at the memory of what had happened.

Unohana huffed lightly. "Well, he deserved it, fighting an Academy student and all that," she said, uncharacteristically harsh. At the boy's horrified face, she smiled. "But since you asked so nicely, I shall go 

later to have a look."

Yuki bowed his thanks and left the 4th Division building feeling more refresh than ever. He swore that whatever the women had put in his tea was making him more hyped and happy. And, no, the 4th Division was not handing out ecstasy.

He had hoped to run into Hanatarou but apparently the teenage was out cleaning the sewage. Drawing a line over Unohana-taichou's name, he scanned down and groaned. 'Happy feelings gone…' he thought weakly and started hulling his body towards the 7th Division.

"Ex-excuse me…"

Four heads turned simultaneously towards him, one slightly more… concealed than the others, and he gulped. Apparently the four were having an afternoon tea which made Yuki's life easier as he didn't need to go to the 9th Division. And it just so happen that Tousen was next on the list. But that also meant his embarrassment was twice as bad.

Actually, made that four times as bad.

"Urgh… It's Kuromori Yuki from Shinoureijutsuin, here to deliver love to… you all," he finished lamely, fingering the developing threads on his kimono sleeve.

"Oh…" Tousen muttered and paused slightly. 'That boy's presence is faint…' was his first thought, then, 'What the hell…'

Komamura turned his head away – not the most creative reaction but, all well – and snickered.

Iba gave a look to Shuuhei and a laugh escaped. "I cannot believe he said that," he said, once you string together the short bursts of words.

Shuuhei nodded his head, face straight. Then a grin split his face apart. "Hell. Yeah!"

"Yeah…" Yuki gently placed the four small sacks by the doorway. "Please do not worry about the White Day and I-am-just-gonna-disappear-from-the-face-of-the-Earth." He backed out of the door, face flaming, enough to cause steam floating around it.

It was ridiculous.

And he knew it.

He knew he should act all mature and all that, but when muffled laughter rang out from the room behind him from people several decades older than him, he ran.

And he was totally going to hang himself on the next tree he could find. No one could fault him. For next on the list was, wait for it, Kurotsuchi Mayuri-taichou of the 12th Division.

Oh, he was so dead.

"Hello?" he asked quietly, knocking on the door silently.

Smash! Bang! Bang! BOOM!

"Argh! What is this! NO! My experiments!" a voice screamed angrily. The door blew opened, outwards and into Yuki. "You! It must be YOU!"

Almost closed to death, the boy groaned out, "Happy Valentine's Day?" And he was instantly lifted up into the air by the front of his kimono. 'This had happened way too much lately,' he thought in dismay. "Sorry?"

"Sorry! You are SORRY!" Mayuri screamed, spittle flying. "All my experiments are ruined! Do you know how much you have RUINED! DIE!"

"Mayuri-sama, please do not kill the student," Nemu, Mayuri's daughter, said, coming up silently from behind.

"Silence!" Mayuri cried, backhanding the girl in the face with a fist. "I will do what I want! You whelp!" He shook the small figure in his hand, yelling again, "Look at all that ruined experiments! Do you know how long it took me! Weeks! Weeks of work are now all for nothing! And it is all YOUR FAULT!"

Yuki peered into the dark room and caught a glimpse of something smoking as a waft of sulphurous gas 

entered his nostril, gagging him.

"Mayuri-sama, it was not his fault," Nemu said, climbing up weakly. When the Death Eyeballing Attack of Doom (a.k.a. DEAD) was directed on her, she continued her explanation without flinching, "We had expected the reaction to be SN2 but it turned out to be the slower SN1. This meant we had added the additional reactants too soon, causing the production of blah, blah, thus over blah, blah…"

Of course, being a professional that Nemu was, she did not say "blah, blah". It was more like what Yuki had heard. He was lost seven words into the sentence which went on to be paragraphs and later, a chapter. But gradually, the fierce grip on his collar loosened enough for him to start breathing normally without the need to use his reserve anymore.

"Fine," Mayuri said with a sniff, dropping the boy in his grasp on the ground and immediately sanitised his hands with alcohol. He tapped his long fingernail against his chin. "Boy, what are you here for?" he finally asked, his voice like silk.

Scrambled to a sitting position, the brunet quickly pulled out a small pink sac, provided by the Student Council. "These are the Valentine's chocolate from the students of Shinoureijutsuin," he blanched, "companied by vials of their blood. They hoped they could be of service to you." Yuki would never be able to understand what those students were thinking about when they drew their own blood for the sake of this mad scientist. But he was just the courier so he could not voice his opinion no matter what.

A shiver ran down his spine when the taichou lifted his chin up with a finger. "I rather have yours," Mayuri said slowly, his long fingernail closed to nicking a vein. "There's something in you…" a grin, "I promise I won't take too much."

After being held down by the female fukutaichou and five vials of blood later, he was allowed to leave the grounds. "There's something in me…" Yuki repeated, massaging his left arm. He was sure he had lost some weight. "What could it be? I had a blood test before and there was nothing wrong with me…"

Then, finally, it was the last one. As Yuki was walking towards his destination, dancing his thanks, he was suddenly pulled into a dark alley. "What the-!" he cried out, arms everywhere to his balance but ended on his butt anyway. "Ow…"

Looking up to see who the culprit was, any sort of swear words swelled in his throats and blocked his airway. It was, surprisingly enough, Ise-fukutaichou. "I-Ise-fukutaichou!" he squeaked, not sure why he found the need to be quiet.

"Shh!" the woman said sternly and Yuki refrained himself from pointing out that she was louder. "Take this!" she hissed, thrusting a box into the boy's face. "Give this to Kyouraku-taichou," she flushed red, "I-I am doing this as a friend! Nothing more!" She adjusted her glasses with a cough and composed herself. "Tell no one or else…" she let the threat hang and walked off.

Shaking his head to clear it, Yuki wondered out loud, "What the heck was that!?"

_In the office of the 8__th__ Division_

"Where is he?" the taichou of the 8th Division asked the silence in his office as he paced the length of it. He came to a sudden stop when a new idea popped into his head. "Wait, he could be a she! Better yet! She could be wearing a maid's outfit!" Face in a blissful expression, he fantasized about the 'Cupid'.

Kyouraku Shunsui was not having a successful day Valentine-wise. First, he could not find his Nanao-chan in the usual places: library, office and such. Then, as he casually patrolled the corridors and grounds, no female shinigami stepped forward and profess their profound love for him. Rejected, he had returned to his office and waited for the 'Cupid' from Shinoureijutsuin to come. Sadly, when the sun had sunk low and dyed the sky red with its creeping fingers, he realised he might not get any chocolate today.

Just as he was starting to drool into a overly giant handkerchief, a knock rang loud and clear in the quiet room. Jack-knifing up from his lazy position on the ground, he was by the entrance in three large steps and he threw open the door with loud welcomes.

Yuki, expecting such reaction this time, smartly stepped back after his knock. His words were cut off abruptly when a man grabbed him into a crushing bear hug, dancing around while singing incoherently. 'Such warm welcome…' the boy thought, his head painfully rolled around on his shoulders. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyouraku-taichou," he said tiredly, praying for the day just to finish.

Grabbing the items excitedly, even though he was slightly disappointed that it was not a girl, the older 

man dropped the boy and counted his prize out loud. "One… Two…" Silence. He counted again. "One… Two…" The reality finally sunk in. "I only got TWO!" he wailed and started sobbing. "Only two… and I said I was going to compete with Ukitake too…" He glanced sweetly down at the two presents anyway. "At least I know there are two people out there that love me…" he said happily.

The one that was wrapped in shocking fluorescent pink wrapping paper had a card with it which Shunsui opened with great enthusiasm. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyouraku-taichou-sama! Love from the Shinoureijutsuin Student Council," it said. To tell the horrible truth, no one wanted to give the taichou of the 8th Division chocolate this year and, in order not to let the man felt left out, the Student Council thought it would be a good idea to him one from themselves.

Yuki thought it was done just out of pity and it would be better if the Student Council didn't do it. He knew, if it was him, it would be very embarrassing.

But apparently not to Shunsui. "Thank you so much," he sniffed and wiped his eyes. "A chocolate from so many people's heart!" Moving on to the next one, he was puzzled by it. No name, no nothing. All except a big white 'FRIENDSHIP' on the chocolate. "Who could this be from…?" He glanced over at Yuki. "This cannot be from the Shinoureijutsuin because of that chocolate so… you must know!"

Yuki's smile froze and he started backing out of the room. "Go-Good day, Kyouraku-taichou. I will be on my way…" he said, his pace picking up as he went. Somehow, the open door behind him swung shut by itself with a soft click.

Thirty minutes later, a drunken Yuki staggered out, far too happy. He didn't voluntarily drunk the sake, he was forced. He could remember the first five _ochoko_-full of alcohol, some faint memories of the 15th one, then _BANG! _nothing after the 25th.

He giggled and laughed at the dancing man inside the room. He did not even flinch when he felt the killing intent from the woman with glasses behind him.

"How. Dare. You!" Nanao said in a deathly quiet voice, clawed hands reaching out.

"Nanao-chan!" Shunsui cried, slightly tipsy himself, sailed out and swept the woman into a waltz. "My Nanao-chan!"

"Taichou! Kyouraku-taichou! Please let go!" she screamed, beating the man lightly with her fists.

Still lifting and swinging his fukutaichou around, Shunsui winked at Yuki and tilted his head slightly. Even though he was staggering all over the place, the boy somehow was still able to understand that he was given a chance to escape.

Giving a wobbly salute, he started tottering out of the Division, his work finally done for the day. It was lucky that Hitsugaya found him twenty minutes later leaning against a random wall where he had fainted upon. "Up…" The white-haired boy easily heaved his friend over his shoulder and walked towards home.

"Toushirou…" Yuki whined with a smile and stretched.

"Stay still," Hitsugaya said sternly, finding it slightly hard to walk with a moving burden. "You did well today," he added as an afterthought.

The brunet grinned, not as drunk as Hitsugaya had thought. "Thanks…"

'Score!' Yuki thought when he was told he could spend the night at his friend's place. They didn't do too much that night but they chatted with Yuki chugging down water all the time, trying to ward off the hangover the next morning as it was a school day.

_The next day_

"Good morning…" Yuki said with a yawn as he entered the classroom, glad the constant trip to the toilet was worth it as he was freed of any headache.

"Yuki!!" The said boy instinctively dodged the moving mass coming towards him, a new development after yesterday's experience. Tripped by the door frame, Takashi rolled and crashed into the wall opposite to the entrance. "Ow… why did you do that for?"

The boy shrugged. "Instinct," he offered simply.

"Where were you last night? We all thought you were dead!" Takashi cried, finally remembered what he 

was originally going to say.

Yuki sniffed and strolled through the door without answering. When he was confronted with a crowd, all wished to know what it was like to meet the Gotei 13 and lived to tell the tale, he said, "Se-cre-t!"

Even though he was pretty much pummelled to the ground and his ears had gone deaf with loud screaming, he still thought it was worth it. Hey, they pushed him to his death and, when he survived, they had the guts to come back like nothing had happened. He was definitely not going to tell them!

'Let them suffer with curiosity,' he thought with a snicker.

While the average experience was horrifying, Yuki had to admit that he had gained a lot from yesterday and he definitely did not regret it. Not that he was saying he would volunteer to do it again.

* * *

(1) White Day is on the 13th of March and is generally celebrated in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It is like continuation of Valentine's Day where those who received chocolate on Valentine's Day are expected to return something usually more expensive to the givers.

(2) The honorific –han is the same as –san and is used in western Japan.

Vocabulary

Zanjutsu – swordsmanship

Bokken – wooden practice sword

Gaki – brat, somewhat rude (but Kenpachi is really not a polite person, is he?)

Moppu – a mop

Karesansui – traditional Japanese garden known as the dry garden or rock garden.

Ochoko – small cylindrical cup that people usually used for drinking sake

I felt like being slightly mean to Shunsui. Don't get me wrong, I like the man just fine. But I just thought it would be funny for him, the lady's man (or so he says), to get nothing except friendship and pity chocolate.


End file.
